Photo Credit: Di Miller
Under the sunny skies of Denver, Colorado, and in front of a hometown crowd of 6,944 fans, the Denver Outlaws hosted the Ohio Machine who were hoping to stop the Outlaws’ 21 consecutive game winning streak. It was Star Wars night for Denver, and the game was called “May the Fourth Be With You.” Both teams wore Star Wars jerseys which will be auctioned on Monday for the Wounded Warrior Project. The fans were prepped and ready for some fast paced lacrosse.
The Outlaws were going for their 22nd consecutive regular season win in the MLL. Unfortunately for the Machine, the “Fourth” was not with them, and they would lose to the Outlaws 14-12.
The Denver Outlaws roster included: Chris Bocklet; Matt Bocklet; Ken Clausen; Charlie Cipriano; Cameron Flint; Matt Gibson; John Grant Jr.; Anthony Kelly; Terry Kimener; Eric Law; Justin Pennington; Dillon Roy; Jesse Schwartzman; Domenic Sebastiani; Jeremy Sieverts; Drew Snider; Michael Simon; Ethan Vedder; and Lee Zink.
The Ohio Machine roster included: Peter Baum; Jake Bernhardt; Greg Bice; Marcus Holman; Chase Carraro; Kevin Cooper; Matt Dolente; Greg Downing; Kyle Harrison; Erik Krum; Keil Matisz; Bill McGlone; Eric O’Brien; Brian Phipps; Scott Rodgers; Max Schmidt; Steele Stanwick; Chad Wiedmaier; and Dana Wilber.
The Outlaws would start off the game scoring quickly. Eric Law would get his first goal of the game, followed by Chris Bocklet only 90 seconds later. Law would score again on a pass from John Grant, Jr., his first as an Outlaw. They would lead the Machine by the score 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Bocklet would score his second goal of the game. But the Machine would bounce back with goals from Marcus Holman and Kevin Cooper who would score twice making the score 5-3 at the half.
Denver came out after the half, and were shut down much like they were in Florida. Six Machine players would hit net, and Cooper would get the hat-trick. The only Outlaws player to score in the third quarter would be Jeremy Sieverts, who had another spectacular two-point shot. The third would end with the Machine up 9-7.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the game went back and forth. Kyle Harrison of the Machine would score first, followed by Holman. But the Outlaws weren’t done yet. They would get goals from Law, Sieverts, and Justin Pennington. They were down by one, when Grant Jr. made an amazing behind-the-back shot to tie the game at 12. Sieverts would score to give the Outlaws a one-goal lead, a goal that would be challenged for a possible crease violation, but finally ruled a goal. Denver would get their final goal with 20 seconds on the clock. Drew Snider fed the ball to Law who hit net to make the score 14-12 in favor of the Outlaws. The Machine had one final chance to score, but Lee Zink would make an amazing defensive play to end any hopes of the Machine scoring.
Both goalies were amazing. Jesse Schwartzman would have seven saves in the game, while Scott Rodgers would be 12 of 25.
The Machine are still winless against the Outlaws 0-5, and now sit with a record of 1-1.
Denver is still the only undefeated team in the MLL (2-0); have now won 22 consecutive regular season games; and have been victorious in their last five home-openers.
Next weekend, May 10, Denver heads to Boston to face the Cannons who are 1-1.
