Four Hat Tricks For The Outlaws As Denver Defeats Charlotte 15-12
May 3, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Denver Outlaws News Release
DENVER -The Denver Outlaws debuted their orange jerseys and 2014 MLL Championship banner in heroic fashion as they defeated the Charlotte Hounds 15-12 this afternoon at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. Four Outlaws scored hat tricks in the victory. Jeremy Sieverts was named the Coca-Cola Player of the Game for his three goals and one assist.
The first quarter was low-scoring with both goalies making big saves. Jesse Schwartzman saved four of six shots on goal by the Hounds, and Pierce Bassett recorded five saves on seven shots on goal. Defenseman Brett Schmidt started the scoring with a goal for Charlotte 3 minutes into the opening quarter. Greg Melaugh responded for the Outlaws 1:09 later with a goal assisted by Domenic Sebastiani. Once again the scoring went back-and-forth with John Haus recording a goal for the Hounds and Sieverts scoring his first goal of the match with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
Denver pulled away in the second quarter with a four-goal run. Eric Law started the scoring for the Outlaws with a power-play goal 1:30 into the period. Haus notched his second of the game on a man-up opportunity before Denver made their run, which featured goals from Law, Drew Snider, Melaugh and Michael Bocklet. Charlotte recorded two more goals in the second quarter, a goal straight from the faceoff by Brendan Fowler and a wrap-around goal from Jake Tripucka, before Denver closed out the period with two goals of their own. Justin Pennington scored his lone goal of the game, before Law completed his second-quarter hat trick with 4 seconds remaining in the half for a 9-5 lead at the half.
The third quarter was low scoring once more. The Outlaws did not score until 12:29 into the quarter, when Snider notched his second of the game off of an assist by Sieverts. Pat Laconi and Josh Dionne each scored their lone goals for the Hounds in the third quarter for a score of 10-7 going into the fourth quarter.
The final frame featured rampant scoring by both teams with the Hounds and the Outlaws each recording five goals in the final 15 minutes. Denver started off the scoring in the final period with a three-goal run. Sieverts completed his hat trick with two of those three goals, and rookie Dan Taylor scored his first career goal off an assist by fellow first-year player Patrick Harbeson. Charlotte responded with back-to-back goals just 13 seconds apart before Snider scored his third of the game. Melaugh scored to complete his first career hat trick and give Denver their final total of 15 goals. Ryan Flanagan was the second defenseman to score for Charlotte, scoring two of Charlotte's final three goals.
Schwartzman recorded 9 saves in his 68th Major League Lacrosse victory; Bassett had 13 saves in the game. Anthony Kelly won 17 of 30 faceoffs for the Outlaws, including eight faceoffs in the fourth quarter, and picked up seven ground balls. Defenseman Ken Clausen had eight ground balls in the match.
The Outlaws will be back on the road as they face the Rattlers Sunday, May 10 at 11 a.m. MDT in Rochester. Denver's next home game is presented by U.S. Bank on Sunday, May 24 and will feature Denver best fireworks display and a Major League Eating competition hosted by Illegal Pete's.
For tickets please visit www.denveroutlaws.com.
Notes:
- The Outlaws are the first team to have four players score a hat trick in a single game, and the only team to have two games with three or more players scoring a hat trick.
- This is the second game in a row that a first-year player has had a hat trick for the Outlaws.
- Eight ground balls is a career high for Ken Clausen and are the most in a game by an Outlaw this season.
- The Outlaws have won nine of their 10 home openers, including the last six.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Lacrosse message board...
Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 3, 2015
- Hounds Comeback Falls Short in Denver - Charlotte Hounds
- Four Hat Tricks For The Outlaws As Denver Defeats Charlotte 15-12 - Denver Outlaws
- Cannons Fall to Undefeated Lizards - Boston Cannons
- Machine Records First Win of 2015 - Ohio Machine
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
