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The Denver Outlaws rallied to defeat the Ohio Machine 19-18 after trailing by seven goals at halftime to earn the second Steinfeld Trophy in franchise history (2014, 2016). The win marks the sixth professional championship for Owner Pat Bowlen (Broncos Super Bowls XXXII, XXXIII, 50 – Colorado Crush, 2005).
Denver native Eric Law (4 G, 3 A) was named MVP of the championship game after giving the Outlaws the go-ahead goal with just 13 seconds remaining.
“Outlaws fans, thanks for all your support,” Head Coach B.J. O’Hara said. “It really meant a lot to these guys and helped carry them through a tough season, helped get them through a tough first half and carried them to a championship. Thank you all, we’re just so excited. This is an unbelievable group of guys. We can’t be more proud.”
Ohio scored first and would build its largest lead of the night at 14-7 with a late goal in the second quarter. Following the intermission, the Outlaws went on an 11-1 run over the first 18 minutes of the second half to take its first lead of the game.
Ohio, down at that point 18-15, battled back with three consecutive goals to tie the game with just over six minutes remaining before Law’s game winner gave the Outlaws its second Major League Lacrosse championship in three years.
The teams alternated goals to open the game and were tied at two until the Machine reeled off four consecutive goals to close out the opening frame. Midfielder Tom Kelly snapped the 4-0 Ohio run, but the Machine responded with a 3-0 run to push their lead to 9-3 until weather delayed the game for more than an hour and a half.
After the delay, the Outlaws went on a 4-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 9-7 with 6:20 to go in the first half. The Machine responded with a 5-0 streak to close out the half and entered halftime with a 14-7 lead.
After a shortened halftime, the Outlaws came out firing in the third quarter and outscored the Machine 8-1. Law added three goals and midfielder Drew Snider scored twice while Matt Kavanagh and Greg Downing each added a goal. The quarter goal differential (+7) was the largest in MLL Championship history.
Attackman Wes Berg netted his second goal of the day, giving the Outlaws their first lead of the game, 16-15, in just over a minute into the fourth quarter. Kavanagh and Berg each added another goal over the next 1:56 to push the Outlaws run to 11-1 in the second half, giving the Outlaws an 18-15 lead with 11:51 to go. The Machine responded with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 18 with 6:06 to go.
Law scored the game-winning goal – his fourth goal of the day – with just :13 seconds to go, and the Outlaws held on to win the second Steinfeld Cup in franchise history.
“This game played out the way a lot of our games did this year,” O’Hara said. “We were a second half team all year. While we were down at halftime, there was a confidence in the locker room that if we could just get things going quickly in the third quarter, we still had a chance. That’s exactly what happened.”
Feature Image Credit: MLL; Brett Davis, Pretty Instant