Denver Outlaws
|
Team logo | |
| League | MLL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Home stadium | Sports Authority Field at Mile High |
| Based in | Denver, Colorado |
| Colors |
Black, orange, silver |
| Head coach | B.J. O'Hara |
| General manager | Tony Seaman |
| Owner(s) | Pat Bowlen |
| Steinfeld Cups | 2 (2014, 2016) |
| Website | denveroutlaws.com |
The Denver Outlaws are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. Since joining the league, they have been one of its more successful teams, having appeared in the championship game six times, though they have lost in four of those appearances. The Outlaws have only missed the playoffs once in franchise history. The Outlaws regularly post the highest attendance in the league. The Outlaws won their first MLL Championship on August 23, 2014, defeating the Rochester Rattlers 12-11. The Outlaws won their second MLL Championship in 2016, defeating the Ohio Machine 19-18.
Franchise history
The Outlaws had their inaugural game on May 20, 2006, versus the Chicago Machine at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The game was played in front of a Major League Lacrosse record crowd of 13,167 (the record was broken again later that year at another Denver home game which drew 15,981), where the Outlaws won 24-14.[1] The Outlaws won the Western Conference championship in their first season.
On June 16, 2007, the Rochester Rattlers won a game in overtime 27–26 over the Outlaws in the highest scoring game in MLL history at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Denver hosted the 2008 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game in front of 10,124 people, with the Western Conference defeating the Eastern Conference 31–15.
During the 2012 season, a total of 59,465 fans came out for Outlaws home games, an average of 8,495 fans per game.
Historically, the Outlaws have led the MLL in attendance since their inaugural season in 2006.
The Outlaws won their first MLL Championship on August 23, 2014, defeating the Rochester Rattlers 12-11.
About the Outlaws
Part of Major League Lacrosse’s 2006 western expansion, the Denver Outlaws have posted winning records and reached the playoffs in each of the nine seasons that the team has been in existence. They are the only MLL team to accomplish such a feat, as the team’s 60-26 record is top in the league since 2006.
The team is managed by Edge Sports & Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Denver Broncos Football Club.
In 2012, behind the strong veteran play of MLL MVP Brendan Mundorf and Defensive Player of the Year Lee Zink, Denver capped their regular season with a 15-13 victory over Chesapeake to finish the year with an 11-3 record, which represented the most wins in team history for a single season. Additionally, Denver entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed for the second time in franchise history and first time since 2009.
During Championship Weekend in Boston, the Outlaws trailed 12–3 to Long Island with 11:32 to play in the third quarter. It appeared as if Denver’s record-setting season had reached its end. Yet, that’s when Denver set another record with a 10–0 run to end the game, catapulting the franchise into the Steinfeld Cup title game with a 13–12 victory over Long Island. Unfortunately, in the title game versus Chesapeake, the Outlaws were unable to muster that same kind of comeback magic and fell to the Bayhawks 16–6, falling one win short of their first MLL Championship.
In 2013 the Denver Outlaws became the first undefeated team in the regular season in MLL history after beating the Hamilton Nationals 18-12 to finish the season 14-0. However, they fell to the Charlotte Hounds in the semifinals. It was the first playoff victory in their first appearance for the Hounds.
2014 to Present: Breakthrough
BJ O'Hara took over as head coach for the 2014 season. That year, the Outlaws posted a 9-5 record and won their first Steinfeld Cup as the second seed. They defeated the New York Lizards in the semifinals, 14-13, in the first ever home playoff game in Denver. On August 23, the Outlaws defeated the Rochester Rattlers 12-11 to win their first MLL Championship in the team's 9-year history.
In 2015, the Outlaws missed the postseason for the first time ever in franchise history after posting a 7-7 record (also their worst record in franchise history).
The 2016 season saw the Outlaws get out to their worst start in franchise history at 2-6. After trading John Grant Jr. to the Ohio Machine, the Outlaws won their last six games of the regular season to be one of the seven teams in the league to finish 8-6. With the tiebreaker procedures, the Outlaws ended up with the third seed and faced the Lizards in the semifinals. At a neutral site in Fairfield, Connecticut, the Outlaws defeated the Lizards, 20-17. The next week, they faced the top-seeded Machine, featuring John Grant Jr. Two weeks prior, Grant Jr. scored an MLL-record 10 goals in the final week of the regular season to secure a playoff spot for the Ohio Machine. In the championship game, the Outlaws fell behind the Machine, 9-3 in Atlanta. Lightning delayed the game for 97 minutes, and the Outlaws scored the next four goals to cut the deficit to 9-7. The Machine came back with five straight and Denver went into the locker room trailing 14-7, at halftime. The Outlaws roared back to tie the score at 15 by the start of the final quarter, before Eric Law scored a go-ahead goal with 12.9 seconds left. The Outlaws shutdown the Machine's last scoring threat and claimed their second Steinfeld Cup victory in three years.
Independence Day Games with Fireworks
| Season | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Los Angeles Riptide | W, 22-11 | 15,981 |
| 2007 | Chicago Machine | W, 22-14 | 19,793 |
| 2008 | San Francisco Dragons | W, 10-9 | 20,116 |
| 2009 | Boston Cannons | L, 17-16 | 21,952 |
| 2010 | Chesapeake Bayhawks | W, 12-10 | 23,443 |
| 2011 | Boston Cannons | L, 15-12 | 27,184 |
| 2012 | Ohio Machine | W, 17-12 | 30,128 |
| 2013 | New York Lizards | W, 16-7 | 31,019 |
| 2014 | Boston Cannons | L, 17-13 | 29,718 |
| 2015 | Boston Cannons | L, 22-9 | 31,664 |
| 2016 | Florida Launch | W, 14-10 | 28,772 |
| 2017 | Atlanta Blaze |
General Managers
- Tony Seaman - General Manager
- Jon Cohen - Assistant General Manager
Current Coaching Staff
- Head Coach - B.J. O'Hara
- Assistant Coaches - Tony Seaman and Jon Cohen
- Strength and Conditioning Coach - Chris Spangler
All-Time Head Coaches
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Jarred Testa | 2006 | 12 | 10 | 2 | .833 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 2 | Jim Beardsmore | 2007 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 5 | - | - | - |
| 3 | Brian Reese | 2007–2011 | 44 | 30 | 14 | .682 | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| 4 | Jim Stagnitta | 2012–2013 | 28 | 25 | 3 | .893 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 5 | B.J. O'Hara | 2014– | 42 | 24 | 18 | .571 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
Roster
| 2016 Denver Outlaws | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player's Name | Nationality | Position | Height | Weight | College |
| 1 | Ryan LaPlante |  | G | 5 ft 11 in | 170 lb | Denver |
| 3 | Johnny Rodriguez | | G | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lb | Salisbury |
| 4 | Chris O'Dougherty | | D | 6 ft 1 in | 200 lb | Rutgers |
| 5 | Austin Geisler | | G | 5 ft 9 in | 189 lb | High Point |
| 6 | Max Schmidt | | D | 6 ft 4 in | 230 lb | Maryland |
| 7 | Matt Bocklet | | D | 5 ft 10 in | 190 lb | Johns Hopkins |
| 8 | Gregory Downing | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 185 lb | Fairfield |
| 9 | Cam Holding |  | M | 6 ft 1 in | 210 lb | Grand Valley State |
| 10 | Chris Bocklet | | A | 6 ft 0 in | 182 lb | Virginia |
| 11 | Knute Kraus | | D | 6 ft 2 in | 205 lb | Salisbury |
| 12 | Noah Molnar | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 215 lb | Lehigh |
| 13 | Tim Cox | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 215 lb | Albany |
| 14 | Michael Richards | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 174 lb | Penn State |
| 15 | Eric Law | | A | 5 ft 10 in | 170 lb | Denver |
| 17 | Mike Bocklet | | A | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lb | Fairfield |
| 20 | Jeremy Sieverts | | M | 6 ft 3 in | 205 lb | Maryland |
| 22 | Tom Kelly | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lb | Virginia |
| 23 | Drew Snider | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 175 lb | Maryland |
| 24 | John Grant, Jr. | | A | 6 ft 0 in | 225 lb | Delaware |
| 25 | Chris May | | M | 5 ft 8 in | 165 lb | Ohio State |
| 30 | Brent Hiken | | M | 5 ft 10 in | 205 lb | Stevenson |
| 39 | Matt Hossack | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lb | RIT |
| 40 | Matt Johnson | | A | 6 ft 2 in | 175 lb | Oregon |
| 41 | David Dickson | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 182 lb | Bucknell |
| 42 | Aaron Prosser | | M | 5 ft 10 in | 182 lb | Drexel |
| 44 | Brian Kormondy | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 175 lb | Delaware |
| 45 | Dominic Sebastiani | | M | 5 ft 10 in | 190 lb | Delaware |
| 50 | Matt Kavanagh | | A | 5 ft 8 in | 170 lb | Notre Dame |
| 55 | Wesley Berg | | A | 6 ft 1 in | 180 lb | Denver |
| 66 | Michael Simon | | D | 6 ft 3 in | 230 lb | Stevenson |
| 92 | Michael Skudin | | D | 6 ft 2 in | 205 lb | Hofstra |
| 98 | Callum Crawford | | A | 6 ft 2 in | 196 lb | Dowling |
- updated 2016-05-19
MLL Award Winners
Retired Numbers
Season-by-Season
Draft History
References
External links
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