Outlaws survive thriller against Boston
The Denver Outlaws narrowly extended their winning streak after facing the Boston Cannons on Saturday. Denver escaped with an 18-17 victory, continuing their streak to five games.
The Outlaws struck first in the opening quarter with a two-point goal from long stick midfielder Jake Piseno. They continued to find the back of the net, putting up a six spot courtesy of scores from Pat Kavanagh, Brennan O’Neil, Jared Bernhardt and Logan Wisnausks. However, the Cannons kept the first quarter competitive with six goals of their own.
The aggressiveness from Denver’s offense endured through the second quarter, with tallies from Justin Anderson, Kavanagh and Luke Wierman. O’Neil had icing on the cake and completed a hat trick in the first half to maintain the 11-9 lead for the Outlaws.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair that featured the first career goal from Jack Gray, who was also making his professional lacrosse debut. Denver put on two more strikes from Bernhardt and Dalton Young, but the Cannons mounted a comeback and took a 15-14 lead with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
The Outlaws came out sharp and scored two goals within 11 seconds from O’Neil and Bernhardt to take the lead with eight minutes left. Boston’s Marcus Holman shifted the tide four minutes later and netted a two-point goal to regain the advantage. Trailing by one, Denver controlled the closing moments with a game-tying score from Young, and the game-winning goal from Bernhardt with just a minute left on the clock.
O’Neil and Bernhardt orchestrated the Outlaws' offense with four goals a pop. Kavanagh and Young combined for six assists and four scores while Wierman helped build momentum all game by winning 23 face offs for a 67.6% face off win rate, the highest for him this season.
Denver’s defense struggled in the first half, allowing the Cannons to get open looks which enabled them to stay in the game. However, the unit picked it up in the second half and showed up when it mattered most to hold Boston in the closing moments of the fourth quarter. They finished with eight caused turnovers and 43 ground balls. Outlaws’ goalie Logan McNaney got better as the game went on, making crucial saves in the second half. He had 13 saves with a 48.1% save rate, which is the lowest of his rookie season.
The Outlaws look to win their sixth straight as they take on the Utah Archers on Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m.
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