Eduardo Curros – Western Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time
The Utah Archers took on the Denver Outlaws for the first time this season Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. Utah (2-1) was coming off a win against California, while the Outlaws (1-2) picked up a much needed win against Philadelphia to avoid staring the season 0-3. Jared Bernhardt had a breakout game with five points, and the Outlaws kept the Archers off the board for nearly 20 minutes to end the game, as they overcame a 10-5 deficit to win 13-10. Both teams are now 2-2 on the season, and will meet again during Archers’ Homecoming in Week 9.
Outlaws trail after slow first half
The Outlaws scored first with an unassisted goal from Jared Bernhardt at 0:55. Connor Fields scored for Archers, with help from Sam King at 2:52. Ryan Ambler scored and then Mac O’Keefe, both with help from Fields at 3:22 and 6:38 to give Utah a 3-1 lead. Mike Manley scored for Denver off a pass from Brennan O’Neill at 8:39. But King responded at 9:15, and Archers led 4-2 after the first quarter.
Utah would continue the offensive push in the second quarter, with goals from Dyson Williams at 1:31 and Ambler at 2:52 making it 6-2. Dalton Young ended the run with help from Logan Wisnauskas at 4:13. Schreiber unassisted at 7:07 gave Archers a 7-3 lead. The Outlaws then pushed back, with Patrick Kavanagh and Wisnauskas scoring at 8:31 and 10:50. respectively. However, Denver still trailed 7-5 at halftime.
Outlaws storm back in final 20 minutes to take crucial West matchup
Schreiber and Grant Ament combined efforts to score 0:22 into the third quarter for Archers. Graeme Hossack then scored unassisted at 3:15, and Mac O’Keefe at 4:05, with Fields assisting, to extend Utah’s lead to 10-5. The Outlaws would take control the rest of the way, starting with Young scoring unassisted at 5:50. Graham Bundy Jr. nailed a 2-pt goal at 7:33, and Bernhardt scoring his second goal at 8:36. Bernhardt tied the game on a power play goal at 0:39 of the fourth quarter, and Justin Anderson gave the Outlaws the lead off a pass from Bernhardt at 1:04. Bernhardt followed up with his fourth goal of the game at 3:38 and Wisnauskas closed the scoring on a power play, with help from Kavanagh at 7:58, for the final margin of 13-10 for the Outlaws.
Curros’s Corner
Archers: Schreiber (2g, 1a); O’Keefe (2g); Ambler (2g); Fields (1g, 3a); King (1g, 2a); Williams (1g); Hossack (1g)
Outlaws: Bernhardt (4g, 1a); Wisnauskas (2g, 1a); Young (2g); Kavanagh (1g, 3a); Anderson (1g); Manley (1g); Bundy Jr. (1 2-pt g); O’Neill (2a)
Utah dominated the Ground Ball battle, 40-23. Luke Wierman went 14 of 25 on faceoffs and had 7 ground balls for Denver. Logan McNaney made 16 saves (61.5%) in his second career start and win for the Outlaws. Meanwhile, Brett Dobson stopped 15 shots (55.6%) for the Archers.
Archers play Atlas next week in San Diego, while the Outlaws have a rematch with the Homecoming Redwoods.
