Mundorf & Sims pace team with a combined five goals in MLL title game
Annapolis, Md. - The Denver Outlaws fell to the Toronto Nationals in the waning seconds Sunday in the MLL Championship game, losing by a score of 10-9 in Annapolis, MD. Attackman Brendan Mundorf (UMBC) performed well once again and recorded his second consecutive hat trick (to go with two assists for five points on the day) of the post-season and midfielder Josh Sims (North Carolina) contributed another two goals to lead the team in scoring. Outlaws netminder Jesse Schwartzman (Johns Hopkins) came up big between the pipes yet again, making 14 saves include several key stops in the final minutes of play. Leading the Nationals in scoring was Jeff Zywicki who recorded a hat trick and an assist of his own.
Toronto was the first team to find the back of the net with a goal from Nick O’Hara 59 seconds in. After two end-to-end possessions Sims showed he still had the offensive magic shown in last night’s game, taking the ball the length of the field before blasting in a shot at 4:45. The next 10 minutes saw both sides exchange a fast break and several solid saves by Schwartzman. Nationals attackman John Grant Junior broke the scoreless run with a behind the back shot with one minute remaining.
In quarter two the two teams continued to test other’s defensive units, with goalies Schwartzman and Doc Schneider playing well in net. Just over five minutes in (5:25) Toronto’s Jeff Zywicki scored to put his team up 3-1. Less than a minute later attackman Matt Brown (Denver) answered for the Outlaws on an assist from midfielder Max Seibald (Cornell). Momentum stayed with Denver as attackmen and UMBC grads Drew Westervelt and Mundorf connected for another tying goal at 7:04. This was just a glimpse of things to come in the quarter though. Midfielder Brian Langtry got into the act when Mundorf found him charging inside and the Hoftra grad scored on a diving behind-the-back shot for his first goal of the weekend (8:02). Than at 9:35 Mundorf completed the Outlaws’ four goal run with one of his patented low, inside goals (while muscling easily through a defensman). Rounding out the scoring in the half was Zywicki who brought the Nationals back within one at 13:01.
Nationals goalie Brett Queener started the second half despite breaking his hand in warm ups before yesterday’s game, which seemed to add energy for his team. Nearly five minutes in Merrick Thomson scored on Schwartzman after being left open next to the net (assist to John Grant Junior; 4:27). Midfielder Jeff Sonke (North Carolina) responded for Denver and fired in a high shot from 15 yards out (assist to Mundorf) to put the Outlaws back up 6-5. Midfielder Mike Ward (Duke) than scored his first goal of the season about a minute and a half later (1:23) when he blasted in a shot from the 2-point arch (foot on the line however). With the game settled at 7-5 Zywicki and Thomson battled back for momentum with their own respective goals (8:54 and 9:58) to tie the game once again. Play evened back out for the next four minutes with both sides struggling to break the deadlock. Mundorf would be the one to answer the call, recording a hat trick with a high-rising shot over a Toronto defenseman to put Denver up 8-7 with just over a minute remaining. Mundorf almost had his seventh goal of the weekend with the clock winding down but was called for a crease violation.
In the final quarter of the season, Grant Jr. struck first with a goal 37 seconds in. In the next seven minutes of play the top-two offensive units in the league swung back and forth to no avail. With the first TV timeout wrapped up in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 8-8, an intense finale was guaranteed. A few seconds after that (7:43) Outlaws midfielder Dan Hardy (Syracuse) found Sims for a goal after a quick restart while the Nationals were protesting a substitution infraction. The seesaw battle continued with Shawn Williams scoring on an easy point-blank shot at 10:30 when a Denver miscommunication left him alone in front of Schwartzman. In the most tense string of play seen this year, both teams tested each other consistently. Schwartzman kept his team in it with a huge save at 3:09, and the squads continued to battle back and forth down the stretch. With 45 seconds remaining Williams scored his second goal of the game in what would be the nail in the coffin. The subsequent face-off was then won by Toronto and after a quick timeout the Nationals clinched the win and the title, 10-9.
The Denver Outlaws wish to thank all of their fans for the support this season. Check back with DenverOutlaws.com for more information as the off-season progresses.
