Outlaws Jeff Sonke drives against Toronto's Brodie Merrill.
In what was supposed to be one of the top games of the season, the Denver Outlaws jumped to an early lead and never looked back. In control for all four quarters, Denver remains at the top position in the league. Bud Light MVP Jesse Schwartzman recorded 16 saves, holding the high-powered Nationals to a season-low 8 goals.
Denver’s Dan Hardy scored first for the Outlaws, followed by Jeff Sonke. Toronto was only able to muster up two goals for the entire half, one from Colin Doyle and one from Merrick Thomson.
Denver’s Matt Brown, who recently cleared the 100-career-goals mark, tacked on four more goals in the second quarter to end the half in favor of the Outlaws, 11-2.
Toronto stepped up their defensive play in the second half, holding Denver to only four goals for the third and fourth. Offensively, the Nationals seemed to come alive and scoring 4 goals in the fourth. Unfortunately the effort was not enough, as Denver’s Brendan Mundorf scored twice in the fourth to seal the deal for his team.
Tonight’s matchup was especially rough, with both teams penalized a total of 25 minutes. Even though Denver took five penalties in the fourth, Toronto’s Matt Vinc served 7 minutes in the box, during the last period, for his team, ultimately hurting Toronto’s chances for a comeback.
Matt Brown celebrates after scoring one of his four goals.
Despite a combined 20-save performance from Doc Schneider and Brett Queener, the Nationals could not tame the Outlaws assault on cage. Denver recorded eight different goal-scorers. Matt Brown scored four times in the second quarter, while Brendan Mundorf added on another three. Drew Westervelt and Jeff Sonke each tallied two goals, while Brian Langtry, Nate Watkins, and rookie Max Seibald added on a goal apiece. Continuing his strong, consistent play in cage, goalie Jesse Schwartzman made 17 saves, recording at least four in each quarter.
Merrick and Doyle led the Nationals for points, with three each. Last game’s lead scorer, Joe Walters, was held one assist. Face-off man Geoff Snider, who lead the team for groundballs with 9 pickups, and Jordan Hall contributed a goal and an assist each.
After tonight, Denver breaks away from Toronto whois now tied with Long Island for the second position in the league. Next week, Denver faces Toronto again on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Toronto, unfortunately, must travel to Boston two days beforehand to face the surging Cannons, though Toronto will have the home advantage on Saturday. Make sure to catch the round 2 of this intense battle for the top spot in Major League Lacrosse.
