Denver Outlaws Clinch Top Playoff Seed with Record-Setting Season
Published on August 13, 2012 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Denver Outlaws News Release
DENVER - The Denver Outlaws earned the top seed in the 2012 MLL Playoffs with a 15-13 victory at Chesapeake on Saturday, Aug. 11. Denver finished the year with an 11-3 record, which represents the most wins in team history for a single season.
"I expected to compete for the cup at the end of the year," Head Coach Jim Stagnitta said. "I thought it would take time for us to come together and play our best lacrosse as a team. But I fully expected us to compete at the top of the league as the season progressed. We still have not played our best lacrosse. We need to play four consistent quarters in the playoff. It's exciting to know we haven't peaked yet."
Denver enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed for the second time in franchise history and first time since 2009. Denver tied for the league's top mark in 2006 and 2010. This represents the second season that Denver has reached double digits in wins (10-2 in 2006).
Denver has posted winning records in each of the seven seasons that the team has been in existence. It is the only team to accomplish that feat in each of its seasons as a franchise. The Outlaws are also the only team to reach the playoffs in each of the past seven years. The Outlaws' 60-26 record is tops since they entered the league in 2006.
The Outlaws set an MLL record with 229 goals in 2012, breaking the old mark of 227 that was held by Baltimore (2005) and Long Island (2002). The team's 116 assists represented a franchise-best, topping the old record of 90 that was set in 2006. Denver scooped up 482 ground balls, which also marked a new team record.
Attackman Brendan Mundorf shattered the team record for points in a season as he posted 59, including 32 goals and 27 assists to finish second in the league in scoring. Mundorf and Brian Langtry held the old record with 47 points in 2007 and '08, respectively. Mundorf now holds five of the top eight most productive offensive seasons in franchise history.
Mundorf's 32 goals rank fourth for a single-season in Outlaws history and were second-most in the league in 2012. Mundorf owns three of the top four highest-goal outputs in team annals. His 27 assists represent a new team record and were fourth-most in the MLL.
The Outlaws finished the year with four players ranked in MLL's top 10 for goals, which was tops among all teams: Mundorf (59, 2nd), McBride (38, 4th), Sieverts (26, t-7th) and Poillon (24, t-9th). Four players set career highs in scoring this season: Mundorf, Sieverts, McBride and Terry Kimener.
Sieverts established himself as a Most-Improved Player of the Year Award candidate after exploding for 26 goals, including a team-best seven two-pointers, and seven assists for 40 points in 2012. His seven two-pointers tie for second on the team's single-season leaderboard and tied for fourth in the MLL this season. Sieverts sat out the entire 2011 season and entering this year, his career-best output was six points in 2010.
Seven of the team's top-10 scorers were offseason acquisitions made by first-year General Manager Tony Seaman and Stagnitta. Three rookies finished in the top 10, led by Mark Matthews' 28 points.
Denver finished the season on a six-game win streak, which ties for second longest in club annals. The team outscored opponents 108-70 during that stretch. The Outlaws last won six games in a row between May 22, 2009 and June 27, 2009.
The Outlaws also led the league with 12 weekly award winners, taking home seven MLL Rookie of the Week awards, three Offensive Player of the Week Awards and two Defensive Player of the Week awards. The second place team was Long Island with seven weekly honors recipients. Mark Matthews led all players with four weekly awards - all Cascade Rookie of the Week. He was the only player in the league to earn more than two weekly accolades. Chris Bocklet, Brendan Mundorf and Jesse Schwartzman each earned two weekly awards, while Jeremy Sieverts and Stephan Robarge each picked up one.
MLL Championship weekend presented by WARRIOR will take place at Harvard Stadium in Boston on Aug. 25 and 26. Denver will take on Long Island in the first semifinal game at 11 a.m. MDT on Saturday, Aug. 25. The Championship game will begin at 1 p.m. MDT on Sunday, Aug. 26. Visit http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/championship-weekend/ for more information.
Below is a summary of the team records set or tied by the 2012 Denver Outlaws:
2012 Denver Outlaws Records
Team/Player Record New Previous
Team Wins 11 10 (2006)
Team Goals 229* 219 (2006)
Team Assists 116 90 (2006)
Team Ground Balls 482 400 (2011)
Team Single-Game Attendance 30,128* 27,184 (7/3/11)
Brendan Mundorf Points 59 47 (Langtry, '08 / Mundorf, '09)
Brendan Mundorf Assists 27 23 (Powell, '08)
Jeremy Sieverts Game-Winning Goals 3 3 (Langtry, '09 / Law, '06)
Jesse Schwartzman Goalie Wins 11 9 (Schwartzman, '09 / Tierney, '08)
*MLL Record
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 13, 2012
- Denver Outlaws Clinch Top Playoff Seed with Record-Setting Season - Denver Outlaws
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