The Denver Outlaws held off the Charlotte Hounds 21-16 April 27 behind a six-goal performance from attackman Chris Bocklet, to open the 2013 Major League Lacrosse season with a win.
Bocklet took home Player of the Game honors for his six-goal performance, out-dueling Charlotte attacker Matt Danowski’s five-goal, two-assist outing.
Charlotte put themselves on the board first with a 3-0 run, before the Outlaws scored just after the 13th minute. Bocklet scored his first goal of the quarter to bring the score to 3-2, ending the first quarter.
Bocklet tied the game to open up the second quarter, but it was midfielder Jeremy Sieverts’ three unassisted goals – including a two-pointer just – that helped Denver take the lead. Sieverts hit a two-point shot just before the 14th minute, giving the Outlaws an 10-8 lead after going into halftime.
Denver wasted no time in the second half, as midfielder Terry Kimener scored within the first minute. Bocklet followed that up with two goals of his own, before a four-goal Hounds scoring streak cut the Outlaws’ lead to 13-12 in the middle of the third quarter. Bocklet broke the streak with his fifth goal of the contest, and Denver put in another goal with under a minute left to end the third with a 15-12 lead.
Two quick goals from the Outlaws pushed the lead to five, before being nullified by a Charlotte two-point goal. After a Denver three-goal scoring streak, Denver hit the 20-point mark and Bocklet capped it off with his sixth goal of the contest – giving hime a sock trick – to end the game 21-16.
While the Outlaws’ offense turned out to be too much for Charlotte to handle, the defense also played a large roll in the win. Midfielder Anthony Kelly went 19-29 in face-offs, giving Denver a 15 face-off win advantage. Goalie Jesse Schwartzman chipped in with 10 saves.
Denver travels to Delaware, Ohio May 4 to kick-off the second leg of their three-game season-opening road trip versus the Ohio Machine.
