Cannons edged by Denver in semifinals
August 22, 2009 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
BOSTON, MA - Saturday, August 22, 2009 - The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL), who entered the 2009 New Balance MLL Championship Weekend Presented By Smartlink as the number four seed, were defeated by the number one seed Denver Outlaws 11-10, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday afternoon, eliminating them from the playoffs. This and each of the Cannons' other six losses during the 2009 season were decided by just one goal. Outlaws midfielder Josh Sims (Princeton '00) was awarded the Bud Light MVP for his four goal effort in the game. Attackman Matt Alrich (Delaware '04) led the Cannons with four goals.
The opening quarter was a low-scoring back-and-forth affair. Alrich put the Cannons on the scoreboard first with his man-up goal, assisted by attackman Ryan Boyle (Princeton '04), at 2:06. Denver countered with a goal at 2:42, but the Cannons took the lead again with a tally from midfielder Greg Downing (Fairfield '07) at 8:57. The Outlaws tied the game at 2-2 with a goal at 14:09, which proved to be the final goal of the segment.
The Cannons began the second quarter with three unanswered goals, giving them a 5-2 advantage over the top-seeded Outlaws. Midfielder Kevin Cassese (Duke '03) scored at 19 seconds, Boyle caught a high behind-the-back pass from midfielder Paul Rabil (Johns Hopkins '08) in front of the crease and put the ball in at 4:52 and midfielder Brandon Corp (Colgate '09), the Cannons Rookie of the Year, managed a quick spin move to get around his defender and score at 8:14. The Outlaws pulled within one goal with a man-advantage tally at 10:04 and another marker at 10:30, but Rabil, the Cannons and MLL Offensive Player of the Year and MVP, countered with a goal at 11:15. Denver found the net once more at 14:25 to end the frame with a 6-5 Cannons lead.
Boston opened the third quarter with a pair of goals. Boyle collected his second goal of the game, assisted from attackman Sean Morris (UMass '06), at 5:56 and Alrich also netted his second tally of the game, again from Morris, at 8:39. Denver scored at 9:19 and 10:01, but the Cannons ended the frame with Alrich's third goal of the game at 12:28, to hold onto a 9-7 advantage entering the final 15 minutes of action. Morris earned his third assist of the contest on Alrich's goal.
The fourth quarter was all Denver as they scored four unanswered goals, taking their first lead of the game. The first three goals - at 1:57, 7:29 and 8:08 - were all from Sims. The Cannons tried to put together a comeback late in the game, but could only find the net once with Alrich's fourth goal of the game at 13:51. Morris earned his fourth assist on the play. The Cannons won the final face-off of the contest but couldn't convert it into a goal, falling to the Outlaws by a score of 11-10.
Cannons goalie Kip Turner (Virginia '07) took the loss with 23 saves on the 34 shots he faced. Outlaws goalie Jesse Schwartzman (Johns Hopkins' 07) earned the win with 18 saves on 28 shots.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 22, 2009
- Toronto To Meet Denver In Championship Game - MLL
- Nationals edge Lizards 14-13 in MLL semifinal - Hamilton Nationals
- Outlaws squeak past Boston 11-10 in semifinal - Denver Outlaws
- Denver defeats Boston to reach MLL Championship - MLL
- Cannons edged by Denver in semifinals - Boston Cannons
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