MLL: Denver Owns Lizards, Clinches No. 1 Seed
from press release
Box Score: Denver 12, Long Island 7
DENVER -- The Denver Outlaws (8-2) took on their newly acquired rivals in the Long Island Lizards (5-5) in a tough physical game tonight at INVESCO Field at Mile High with the home team coming out on top 12-7 and clinching the top seed in the Major League Lacrosse playoffs.
The consistent rain throughout the game proved to make it tricky
for the teams, who had issues making plays due to the weather.
There was also a delay at the end of the third quarter due to
lightning in the area that lasted about 20 minutes.
In the first, Long Island opened up the scoring at 0:53 by Stephen
Peyser. The Lizards scored three goals total during this stanza and
lead the Outlaws 3-2 after one. Jeff Sonke (North Carolina) started
the scoring for the home team at 6:19 and Brendan Mundorf (UMBC)
scored two minutes later at 8:20.
The second started with a goal from Nate Watkins (Maryland) from a
great feed from Mundorf at 1:41. Long Island's Matt Danowski scored
his third goal of the game at 10:37. This was their only goal of
the quarter and the Outlaws came out of the half on top 5-4. The
second ended a small fight and penalties to Brian Langtry (Hofstra)
and Nicky Polanco.
After the half, Mundorf scored his hat-trick goal at 4:24 on a
feed from Watkins. This goal occurred after two goals in a row from
the Tim Goettelmann and the Lizards. Josh Sims (Princeton) and
Langtry also scored for the Outlaws in the third (8:23, 10:12). The
boys in orange and black ended the quarter up 8-6.
In the final stanza, the rain continued to pour on the 7,252 fans
and players as it became increasingly difficult for the players and
the refs to keep their footing throughout the game. Denver came out
with a bang and scored four goals to pull away with the win. They
also held the Lizards to only one goal during this quarter.
Watkins was named as tonight's Bud Light MVP by ESPN. Shane
Walterhoefer (North Carolina) was 11-23 in face-offs against Peter
Vlahakis. Jessie Schwartzman (Johns Hopkins) gets the win in net
against Brian Dougherty with eight saves on 15 shots.
Click HERE for the Official Box Score!
The Outlaws will be on the road for the last two games of the
season. On November 1st, they will head to Long Island to play the
Lizards once again at Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University. For the
final game they will head to Toronto to play the Nationals at BMO
Field. Championship Weekend will be held on August 22-23 in
Annapolis, Maryland at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
