Di Miller, Beat Writer Denver Outlaws
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Friday June 24, the Denver Outlaws (3-6) hosted the MLL Champs the New York Lizards (6-2) at Sports Authority at Mile High on a beautiful afternoon. It was Kids Camp Day at the Outlaws and there were 6,978 fans excited to see their Outlaws at home again for only the fourth time this season. Those fans would not be disappointed as the Outlaws would go on to defeat the Lizards. Final Score: Outlaws 20—Lizards 16.
Paul Rabil would get it started for the Lizards with an unassisted goal only 1:23 into the period. Nick Ossello, recently acquired by Denver at the trade deadline for Dom Sebastiani who headed to the Bayhawks, would put the first point on the board for the Outlaws only 16 seconds later giving him his first goal in an Outlaws jersey. 
There would be no action between the pipes until Eric Law would score at 7:44 putting the Outlaws ahead and the Lizards would not lead again for the remainder of the game. John Grant, Jr., who is always a pleasure to watch, would get his first of three in the game. New York would put two more on the board in the first with goals from Jake Tripuka; and Rabil with his second on the day. Jeremy Sieverts would close out the first scoring at 12:01. Score at the end of one: Outlaws 4—Lizards 3.
The Outlaws were quick to get the scoring started in the second with a goal from Drew Snider only 50 seconds in. Denver would go on a four goal run with Snider scoring again giving him two on the day; followed by Grant Jr.; and Law. Another five minutes would tick off the clock before Matt Gibson would get his first of three on the afternoon bringing the Lizards to within four. Rob Pannell would score for the Lizards about a minute later. That’s when rookie Bailey Tills would score his first MLL career goal at 11:52 with the assist to Matt Kavanagh. 
David Lawson would answer back for the Lizards with an unassisted goal at 14:03. But again, Denver would close out the quarter off an unassisted power-play goal from Grant, Jr. Score at the half: Denver 10—Lizards 6.
The Lizards would be the first to fire in the third, with Rabil getting his hat-trick on the day with a power-play goal only 50 seconds in. Tills would score his second of the day unassisted at 4:32 to start a three goal run. Wes Berg would get his first of four with a power-play goal (assist Sieverts); with Law following up less than 30 seconds later (hat-trick). Ryan Walsh would get his only point of the day only 20 seconds later bringing the Lizards to within five. The scoring would go back and forth with Ossello getting his second of the game; followed by Pannell with his second. That’s when Sieverts would send a bullet two-pointer past Drew Adams. Steve DeNapoli would score his only goal of the game with a sweet two-pointer for the Lizards less than 30 seconds later. Gibson would score again for the Lizards, his second of three to close out the nine goal scoring barrage in the third. Both teams would put six points on the Board, but the Outlaws would still have the lead 16-12.
Berg would start off the fourth for the Outlaws three minutes in. This would be the only quarter where a goal was not scored within the first minute and a half. Gibson would answer back on the power-play for the Lizards giving him the hat-trick on the day. Tommy Kelly, who took 14 of the 36 face-offs for the Outlaws in the game, would win the face-off and on a fast break, head down the field and in a spectacular dive, send it between the pipes stunning Adams and the Lizards defense. Kevin Unterstein would answer back for the Lizards only 17 seconds later. Then Lawson would get the second two-pointer of the game for the Lizards with the assist to JoJo Marasco. That would be the final points put on the board by the Lizards. The Outlaws would close it out with back-to-back goals from Berg, both unassisted. Final Score: Outlaws 20—Lizards 16.
The Outlaws came out with one purpose, to win the game. It was an aggressive, bump and grind game. Both defenses were playing tough, but the Outlaws seemed to find more ways to cause turnovers; get the ground balls and protect their net-minder Jack Kelly. Both teams would see goals from eight different players. The Outlaws would dominate at X with Tommy Kelly and Brent Hiken splitting the duties at midfield. The Lizards would see three different players taking the face-offs with Gurenlian out due to an injury in their last game against the Cannons. Jerry Ragonese; Kyle Hartzell; and Kevin Unterstein would set up at X for the Lizards. The Outlaws would have an overall .666 FO%, with the Lizards only coming in at .333 FO%. The Outlaws would also lead in saves, with Kelly
coming in at .548 SV%; and Adams with a .457 SV%.
If the Outlaws can continue in their drive to win, they can come back and hopefully salvage the season. With five games remaining in the season, it won’t be a cake walk. The Outlaws have one more game at home before the All-Star break and another home game after the break. Then they head back out on the road for two and will come back to Denver for the final game of the season against the Charlotte Hounds.
On July 4, the Outlaws (3-6) will host the Florida Launch (1-6) for their annual Fourth of July celebration. The Outlaws will be looking to avenge their loss against the Launch being the only team to lose to them this season.
Check out our photo gallery on Facebook to see more photos from the game. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1327495383930656.1073741880.121135597899980&type=1&l=8dd0cb74e5
Di Miller, Beat Writer Denver Outlaws
Lacrosse is Awesome