Outlaws Win Shootout against Nationals
Published on August 10, 2013 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Hamilton Nationals News Release
The Denver Outlaws (14-0) completed the first undefeated regular season in Major League Lacrosse history today after beating the Hamilton Nationals 18-12 at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Hamilton (9-5) completed the 2013 regular season with the most wins in team history and is currently in second place in the MLL. Hamilton will learn its playoff opponent tonight. If the Charlotte Hounds beat the Chesapeake Bayhawk, the Nats will play the Hounds in the MLL Semifinals. The defending champion Bayhawks would fall to the fourth seed and face Denver in the opening round. The MLL Championship Weekend, presented by Smartlink, will take place at PPL Park in the Philadelphia Area on Saturday and Sunday August 24-25.
Kevin Crowley led the Nationals with a six-point effort (3+1+2) to set a team record for points in a season with 55. Crowley also extended his team-record point streak to 29 games. Joe Walters also reached 26 games with a point with two goals and two assists. Rookie Kevin Cunningham (3+0) and Cody Jamieson (1+2) also chipped in three points each. Rookie faceoff man Mike Poppleton set a Hamilton record with 24 faceoff wins.
Denver's Chris Bocklet finished with four goals and one assist, while Eric Law (4+1+2) and Drew Snider (2+3) recorded seven and five-point nights, respectively. Bocklet ended the season with a league-leading 42 goals, and finished with Crowley for the league point lead with 55. The Outlaws, who were without Brendan Mundorf, capitalized on five of their 10 man-up opportunities to seize control of the game.
The top two teams in the MLL opened the nationally-televised game with two goals apiece. Crowley's goal at 8:13 tied the game and allowed the Nats attackman to tie Merrick Thompson's team single-season point record of 50. It's a record he would break in the second quarter. Denver, however, began a 9-0 run when Jeremy Sieverts scored a two-point goal at 10:04. Will Mangan netted a man-up goal at 13:34 and it was 5-2 Denver after one.
In the second, the Outlaws struck for six straight points, two coming on the man-up and another courtesy of a two-pointer from Law. Walters and Crowley connected for Hamilton to end the scoring drought and bring the score to 11-4. In the third, both teams scored three times with Walters and Jeremy Thompson scoring the final two goals to give Hamilton momentum heading into the fourth.
The Nats got within five at 14-9 when Jamieson beat Jesse Schwartzman at 2:35. After Denver responded with two goals in 42 seconds, Crowley fired in a two-pointer at 6:19 to bring Hamilton to within 16-11. That would be the closest the Nationals would get, as the Outlaws finished off the perfect regular season with two of the game's final three goals.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 10, 2013
- Rochester Rattlers Defeat Boston Cannons, 23-14, in Season Finale - Boston Cannons
- Westervelt, Rubeor Lead Way as BayHawks Win Wild One - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Nationals Learn Playoff Opponent - Hamilton Nationals
- Hounds Drop Regular-Season Finale to BayHawks - Charlotte Hounds
- Outlaws Make History, Finish Regular Season Undefeated - Denver Outlaws
- Outlaws Win Shootout against Nationals - Hamilton Nationals
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.
