Outlaws dominate fourth quarter against Utah to clinch playoff spot

Ryan Tessier / @rjclippedthat

The Denver Outlaws (6-2) clinched a spot in the Premier Lacrosse League playoffs after facing the Utah Archers (3-6) on Saturday. Denver won the contest 15-10, extending their winning streak to six.

The first three quarters were a seesaw battle, with Utah striking first but Denver assertively answering. After falling down 1-0, the Outlaws scored three straight off Logan Wisnauskas and a pair from attacker Pat Kavanagh. The Archers responded with three consecutive goals of their own seeping into the second quarter to go on top. Down 4-3, the inevitable Brennan O’Neil made his mark scoring a two-point goal and a power-play goal in the matter of 59 seconds. With under a minute the Archers fired back with a two-point goal, tying the match 6-6 going into the second half.

After Utah came out sharp and took the lead early in the third quarter, the Outlaws crawled back with a goal from Justin Anderson and a two-point goal from Jake Piseno. With a one score advantage after the third quarter, Denver flipped a switch and dictated the final 12 minutes. Ryan Terefenko broke the 9-9 tie with a goal when Dalton Young and O’Neil took over to outscore Utah 6-2 in the fourth quarter, sealing the 15-10 victory.

Denver’s offense was consistent all game, led by another master class from O’Neil who scored two goals and two two-point goals. His dominance got to a point where every time he got the ball the Archers fans booed him.

“I’ve had people boo every time I touch the ball in high school,” O’Neil said. “I’ve had it at every level so it's nothing new.”

The Outlaws scored four two-point goals on Saturday, which is the most they’ve scored in a game this season. Kavanagh’s two goals and four assists complimented the persistent attack, which was all charged by Luke Wierman’s 56.5% face off win rate.

The defensive unit did have some hiccups in the first half, but was able to adjust and fend off the Archers, only holding them to four scores in the second half. They were led by Pisneo and Mike Manley, who combined for three caused turnovers and nine ground balls. In total, the Outlaws’ defense forced nine caused turnovers and 43 ground balls.

Goalkeeper Logan McNaney similarly got better as the game went on, finishing with eight saves and a save percentage of 47.1%.

With this win, the Denver Outlaws clinched the first seed in the Western Conference for the PLL playoffs, which puts them in a prime spot to reach their first-ever Championship Series. Denver looks to continue their winning streak and end the season on a good note as they host the Carolina Chaos on Friday, Aug. 1, at 6 p.m.