The Utah Archers and California Redwoods meet for the first time this season in a pivotal Western Conference showdown. This game is my favorite spot on the Premier Lacrosse League slate and I have six best bets for the game.
Utah Archers vs. California Redwoods
| Utah (-1.5) Odds | Moneyline: -200 |
| California (+1.5) Odds | Moneyline: +160 |
| Total | 23.5 |
| Time | Saturday · 5:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via BetMGM
Utah is a 1.5-point favorite at most sportsbooks—though DraftKings has moved to -2.5 — against a Redwoods team it hasn’t lost to since 2019. Furthermore, the last three meetings haven’t been particularly close, with the Archers defeating the Redwoods by an average margin of 6.7 goals.
I’m sorry to say California fans — I don’t expect it to get any better on Saturday.
The Archers are only 3-2, but are better than their mediocre record indicates. Their lone losses have come in an overtime collapse against Denver and 9-14 defeat to the Cannons that saw a record-setting five two-point goals scored. In my mind, Utah is still the second-best team in the PLL behind New York and it gets a chance to improve to 4-2 against the lowest team in my power rankings.
The Redwoods have had a tough time against Utah's defense in the past and their roster isn’t any better this time around. While the defense has shown promise, as evident in their 9-7 win over Boston, they’re still relying way too heavily on goalie Jack Kelly. Furthermore, the offense has looked its best with Chris Gray in the lineup, but he’s out of the lineup again presumably with off-the-field commitments.
Nat St. Laurent’s decision to not roster Garrett Degnon this week is another head-scratcher given his ability to stretch the field. Expect California to struggle against this defense and the Archers to turn defensive stops into transition goals.
Ultimately, this is another great spot to bet the Archers as favorites. In addition to betting Archers -1.5 (-127 on BetRivers), I’m also targeting their first half spread of -1.5 (+100 on DraftKings). Utah has started off hot in all of its games, outscoring its opponents 37-25 in the first half and I expect that to continue this weekend. Finally, another way to bet a dominant Utah win is to bet a half unit on Archers/Archers double result at +160 on BetMGM.
Additionally, I’m betting three player props in this game.
Connor Fields has scored a hat trick in 11 of his last 15 regular season games. Not only that, he had two goals in the first quarter of the Archers’ 2023 playoff game against the Redwoods before exiting the game with a shoulder injury. Whether it’s Chris Fake or Chris Conlin, I expect California’s defense to struggle to guard Fields. At -128, there’s value in betting Fields to score at least three goals on Saturday.
As for the Redwoods, there might not be a more overrated player in the betting market than Redwoods attackman Ryder Garnsey. Garnsey’s points prop is set at 3.5 despite staying under this in 10 of 16 games since 2023. That includes going under in 11 of his last 12 games. Garnsey has also registered just one point in each of his last two games against the Archers. Archers beat writer Zach Carey laid out how defender Graeme Hossack has been so successful against Garnsey and I expect Hossack or any other Utah defender to dominate this matchup again.
Additionally, California rostered another lefty attackmen converted to midfielder in Ryan Tierney. This could suggest that we'll get some different looks from the left side which might not benefit Garnsey from an individual goals or points perspective.
In addition to the points prop, I’m also betting a half unit on Garnsey to stay under 1.5 goals at +136. Garnsey has been held under this mark in 10 of his 16 games since 2023, including 10 of his last 12. There’s a better than 43% chance he stays under this mark again on Saturday.
