Denver Outlaws at 0-2 after loss to Carolina Chaos
Carolina was fueled by Blaze Riorden, who set a new PLL save record
By: Remi Krupinski
The Denver Outlaws lost 12-9 against the Carolina Chaos dropping them to 0-2 for the season and last in the Premier League Lacrosse League 2025 season standings.
Denver played exceptionally well in the first half, leading 6-5 with goals from Brennan O’Neil, Pat Kavanagh and Dalton Young. However, in the second half, the momentum would shift towards Carolina with suffocating stops from goalie Blaze Riorden, who broke the single-game PLL record with 25 saves. The Outlaws tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter from Graham Bundy Jr.’s two-point goal, but it was too little too late. Denver’s overall offense improved from the last game, but another defensive collapse led to the 12-9 loss.
The Outlaws’ offensive attack looked a lot better on Friday compared to the game against California. O’Neil finished with a hat trick, while midfielders Bundy Jr., and Young both had two goals. They executed 49 shots, with 36 being on goal. Luke Wierman improved on faceoffs for the Outlaws, winning 14 of 24, and having a 58.3% win rate. Even with the improvement, shooting-wise, the offense still lacked chemistry, finishing the game with just one assist.
The defensive regime improved from last week, but still had some hiccups in the second half. They caused eight turnovers and had 32 ground balls. Michael Manley, Jake Piseno and Nick Grill led the protection, combining for six caused turnovers and seven ground balls. Manley also scored a goal in the third quarter.
This game marked the PLL debut for the Outlaws latest signing, undrafted midfielder Jared Bernhardt from the University of Maryland. Bernhardt won the Tewaaraton award during his last season of lacrosse at the University of Maryland in 2021. This signing pairs him with three other Tewaraton award winners on offense, Logan Wisnauskas, Brennan O’Neil and Pat Kavanagh.
Bernhardt had not picked up a lacrosse stick since college. Bernhardt played division II football at Ferris State as a graduate transfer after his college eligibility for Maryland division I lacrosse was done. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and retired from the NFL in 2023. He signed with the BC Lions of the CFL in September and was released in mid may. . Bernhardt acted as a facilitator for the Outlaws’ offense during this game, mostly passing the ball and setting up shots for the offense, while having three shots on goal.
A lot of the match came down to the goalie play from Owen McElroy, who only collected seven saves while surrendering 12 goals. Ultimately, his 36.8% save percentage cost the Outlaws their momentum. Friday was the second game where McElroy had a save percentage below 50%.
Denver looks to get their first win of the season against the Philadelphia Waterdogs (1-0) on Saturday, June 14.