Stuck in a three-way tie headed into week six, the Denver Outlaws put up 20 goals on the top team in the league, tying the Chesapeake Bayhawks for first place in the MLL with a 20-16 win tonight in Annapolis, MD. Midfielder Dan Hardy had his best outing of the season, winning the Bud Light MVP for his four-goal, one two point, two assist performance. Midfielder Max Seibald contributed four goals, one two-point goal of his own, and one assist, while Midfielder Brian Vetter put in three goals and Midfielder Kyle Dixon scored two two-point goals with an accompanying assist in their losing efforts. "The guys were unhappy after last week's loss and they came out and played great lacrosse tonight," Head Coach Brian Reese said. "Dan (Hardy) was unbelievable tonight. It seemed like every time he got the ball he made good things happen." The Outlaws kicked off the scoring three-and-a-half minutes into the game thanks to an unassisted goal from Hardy. Midfielder Brian Langtry found fellow Midfielder Alex Hopmann to give the Outlaws a 2-0 lead, before Bayhawks Attacker Andrew Combs Chesapeake brought the score to 2-1 six-and-a-half minutes into the first. Seibald netted a goal three minutes later but Chesapeake answered back with a power play goal from Attacker Danny Glading. Midfielder Nate Watkins nullified the Bayhawks' power play goal as he put in an unassisted, shorthanded goal with thirty seconds left in the quarter, bringing the score to 4-2. Denver scored three quick goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second, as Attacker Drew Westervelt hit two goals and assisted on Attacker Matt Brown's first goal of the game. Chesapeake Midfielder Peet Poillon temporarily stopped the Outlaws' offensive barrage but Hardy and Brown both hit goals to bring the score to 9-3 with eight minutes left in the second quarter. With a goal from Vetter, the Bayhawks defense tightened up in the second half of the quarter, only allowing a single goal from Outlaws' Midfielder Sean DeLaney about 10 minutes into the quarter. Midfielder Kyle Dixon capped the scoring for the first half, hitting a two-point goal before a scoreless, four-minute, defensive battle ensued, ending the half with a Denver advantage of 10-6. Chesapeake came out of the half on a mission, cutting the Denver lead to two in the first minute of play off goals from Attacker Ben Rubeor and Face-Off specialist Alex Smith. Westervelt and Langtry matched the Bayhawks' quick goals, with their first goals of the half, before Hardy scored his hat-trick goal to bring the score to 13-8 midway through the third quarter. For the second time in the game, Chesapeake cut the Denver lead to two, off goals from Glading, Vetter, and Poillon. Seibald hit his second goal with a minute and a half remaining, pushing the Outlaws' lead back to three with a 14-11 score after three quarters. Bayhawks' Midfielder Michael Kimmel initiated the scoring in the final quarter of the game but Seibald silenced the early fourth-quarter goal with a two-point goal, the third ball he put past Chesapeake Goalie Chris Garrity. Midfielder Jeff Reynolds scored a goal as Glading assisted, bringing the score to 16-13. Hopmann hit his second goal and Seibald netted his fourth goal to increase the lead to five at 18-13, before the Bayhawks cut the deficit to two off a goal from Vetter and two pointer from Dixon. Hardy crushed the Chesapeake come-back run and capped the high-scoring match with his fourth goal off a two-pointer, ending the game with a final score of 20-16. "This win gives us a lot of confidence," Reese said. "It shows that when we play with a purpose and with poise, we can be really good." Denver Goalie Jesse Schwartzman continued his solid play between the posts as he recorded 17 saves in the full 60 minutes, to go along with his 14 goals against. Garrity recorded 13 saves for the Bayhawks, while letting 17 goals past him.
