The Outlaws laid to rest any doubts about who the top team in Major League Lacrosse is June 8, beating the previously undefeated Hamilton Nationals 22-9 in Denver.
While Denver never trailed in the game, it wasn’t until rookie attackman Eric Law was inserted into the second-half starting line-up that the game got away from Hamilton.
“We started Eric in the second half, and he finished a couple in a row, gave us that separation again, and we were able to keep that lead,” Head Coach Jim Stagnitta said.
Law’s four goals in the match garnered him the Player of the Game award in his MLL debut. The Outlaws offense was firing on all cylinders versus the Nationals, as four players had four-goal performances including Law and 2012 MVP attackman Brendan Mundorf.
“I thought we played two great halves,” Law, who graduated from the University of Denver earlier in the day before the game, said. “Our defense played great, and we had a great goalie in place, so hopefully we can build off this and keep it going.”
As the Denver offense put the Hamilton defense on their heels, the defense was stymying the Nationals shooters and keeping the ball out of their possession. Midfielder and face-off specialist Anthony Kelly won the face-off battle winning 20 out of 32 attempts and leading the team with seven ground balls picked up.
“All day he (Kelly) gave us possession and kept the ball out of very good offensive hands,” Stagnitta said about Kelly’s performance.
“We’re just kind of firing on all cylinders right now,” Kelly added about the strong team play of the Outlaws. “Our offense is clicking and playing well together and taking advantage of man-up opportunities. Our defense is locking down… Defense is doing their job, offense is doing their job; it’s a fun time to be playing around.”
Denver started the scoring for the game off of four-unanswered goals split between Mundorf and attackman Zack Greer – both of whom ended the game with four goals. Hamilton midfielder Kevin Crowley put the Nationals on the board in the middle of the quarter, and Denver netted another goal before the quarter ended to bring the score to 5-1.
Hamilton kept the scoring close in the 2nd, netting four goals to the Outlaws five in the quarter, however first-half hat tricks from Mundorf, Greer and midfielder Drew Snider gave Denver a 10-5 halftime lead.
Law was inserted into the starting lineup for the second half, and made his presence felt 18 seconds into the match with his first MLL goal, which would be followed up by three others in the 3rd quarter. Denver pulled away with the game after an eight-goal quarter, in which Law netted four goals, attackman Chris Bocklet capped his hat-trick with his third goal and the defense held Hamilton to two goals to bring the score to 18-7.
“When we’re moving the ball and making the extra pass, our team is at its best,” Kelly said. “It seems like guys would rather make the extra pass than shoot it themselves. It’s exciting.”
The Outlaws capped the game with four fourth-quarter goals, including Greer and Snider’s fourth of the game for each, giving the Nationals their first loss of the season. The 22-7 victory extends the Denver regular-season winning streak to a team record 12, which dates back to the 4th of July last year.
Denver hits the road for the first time this month June 15 to take on the reigning MLL champions Chesapeake Bayhawks in a re-match of the 2012 championship match.
