In the return of 2012 Major League Lacrosse MVP Brendan Mundorf, the Outlaws gained their second victory of the season with a 13-8 road-win over the Ohio Machine.
The win was the second on the season for Denver, and came in the Machine’s season opener. It also improves the Outlaws regular-season winning streak to eight-straight games, breaking the previous record of seven.
It didn’t take long for Mundorf to make his presence felt, as he tied the game at one apiece in the middle of the first, after the Machine took an early lead. Week-one Player of the Game attackman Chris Bocklet netted his first goal of the game to help Denver end the quarter up 3-1.
Two quick goals to start the second quarter gave the Outlaws five unanswered goals and a 5-1 lead, before the Machine stopped the run with a goal just under the four-and-a-half minute mark. The Ohio defense tightened up to keep Denver out of the net the rest of the quarter, while their offense was able to net two more goals to bring the score to 5-4 going into halftime.
“We had some opportunities, but didn’t finish them,” said Outlaws Head Coach Jim Stagnitta on outlawslowdown.com about the first-half play. “Ohio is doing a really nice job getting out and putting some pressure on use. We just have to put the ball in the cage. We had some opportunities, we just have to take advantage of it.”
The Denver offense over-whelmed the Machine in the third quarter, as three-straight goals – including Bocklet’s second of the match – brought the score to 8-4 mid-way through the third quarter.
Midfielder Eric O’Brien put in the lone goal of the quarter for Ohio, as goalie Jesse Schwartzman posted a four-save quarter in Denver’s commanding third quarter effort. Two more Outlaws’ shots found their way to the back of the net before the third came to an end, bringing the score to 10-5 heading to the fourth.
Scoring slowed to start the fourth quarter, as the Machine netted a goal three minutes into the quarter to cut their deficit to four-goals. Attackman Jeremy Boltus put in back-to-back goals to extend the lead to 12-6.
Ohio’s O’Brien scored his second of the game, before Bocklet put in his third of the game – and league-leading 9th goal of the season. The second half of the quarter was a defensive back-and-forth battle, as Ohio scored the game’s final goal with over five minutes left to play.
Schwartzman was named the Player of the Game for his eight-save performance, which helped keep Denver undefeated with a 3-0 record all-time versus the Machine.
The Outlaws finish up their three-game, season-opening road trip in Boston at Harvard Stadium in their first game of the season versus the Boston Cannons May 11.
