In front of his family and 5,100 fans at James M. Shuart Stadium, Chris Bocklet had one of his best performances of the season. Denver’s leading scorer tallied three goals and three assists, including four points in the second half, to keep the Outlaws perfect season intact with a 13-10 win over New York.
With the victory, Denver remains undefeated, improving to 13-0 on the season. They will look to complete the perfect season next week in Hamilton. Meanwhile, New York falls to 3-10 this year.
Trailing 9-8 in the third quarter, Denver went on a four goal run which extended into the final frame. Bocklet added a goal and assist giving his team a 12-9 lead which they would not relinquish for the final 7:27. Jeremy Sieverts also added three goals and four points.
Denver’s exceptional play this year is chalked up to a harmony between offense and defense. They have run past teams for most of the year. However, these past two weeks against Chesapeake and New York have seen the Outlaws forced to battle an entire 60 minutes. Bocklet feels these types of games are what Denver needs to be prepared for Championship Weekend.
“If we want to win it all, it’s going to come down-to-the-wire in games and last seconds,” said Bocklet. “These are the types of games we need the experience on.”
The defense came up with some key stops in the final 20 minutes of the contest. Goaltender Jesse Schwartzman made 14 stops in goal. Long pole Lee Zink and company also made it hard on Rob Pannell and Tommy Palasek, who both combined for only two goals on nine shots.
While the Bocklet, Sievert and Mundorf garner most of the attention, the supporting cast has been instrumental in Denver’s run. That was demonstrated against New York when midfielder Will Mangan broke up a scoring chance for JoJo Marasco with over three minutes remaining. Terry Kimener also had an important role as a playmaker in the transition, chipping in a goal and three assists. Justin Pennington also had a pair of goals, including the initial go-ahead goal during Denver’s run.
“All these guys are scoring big goals for us,” said Bocklet. “That’s what we need because every player on this roster has a part and a role.”
With a hodgepodge of players entering and leaving the line-up, New York played arguably their best lacrosse of the season. Nine players are either on the injured reserve, PUP list, or military/college inactive list, Head Coach Joe Spallina has been challenged to field a balanced, competitive team. He’s not using any of those reasons as an excuse though.
“I’m a find-a-way guy and we tried to find a way tonight,” said the Lizards head coach. “Obviously we are not at full strength, but it’s not an excuse. Our guys played good enough to win the game today.”
Doug Shanahan was supposed to play on Sunday against Denver. Unfortunately, he was involved in a car accident on the way to the airport on Friday. Spallina seemed haunted when the ball fell out of Palasek’s stick on a semi-breakaway in the fourth quarter. The bad luck has not sunken his spirit but it will play a role in the Lizards missing the postseason.
“We’ve got to figure out how to win again,” said Spallina. “The last three or four games we’ve been in a position to win games, but then it gets to a certain point in the game where we kind of forget about things that makes us go.”
With the amount of vacancies in the line-up, others have been challenged to rise to the occasion. After struggling to adjust to the MLL, rookie JoJo Marasco looked like his old college self. He had a big day leading New York in scoring with three goals on four shots.
“I’m starting to get more comfortable with the league, seeing how guys are shoving and not really sliding,” said the midfielder. “These guys are just bigger and stronger. You have to pick your times to dodge. Every defenseman is good. They’re not going to slide on you. It took me a while to figure it out.”
An area where the Lizards stepped up was their play between the lines. Sunday’s contest seemed like a track meet at points with the amount of fast break opportunities by both teams. Kevin Unterstein played very well on both ends, contributing two goals. But Denver, which has made transition and quick restarts their bread and butter, capitalized on their chances. When they couldn’t beat Drew Adams (21 saves) or the defense at even strength, they caught the unit a step behind when they initiated play after the whistle.
While the Lizards prepare to wrap up their season next week against Ohio, Denver will be playing for the perfect season. The Outlaws have their minds set on the playoffs, but Bocklet says it would be nice to earn that prestige.
“We’ve gotten this far,” he said. “It’s definitely in the back of my mind, not going to lie.”
