The Denver Outlaws and Utah Archers met Monday at Zion’s Bank Stadium in Salt Lake City for a PLL semifinal matchup. The Outlaws were coming off a thrilling 15-14 win over the California Redwoods in their quarterfinal matchup last week. Meanwhile, the Archers won both regular season meetings, but hadn’t played in a month after finishing their regular season in Week 12 and earning the Western Conference’s first-round bye. Utah hoped the return of three-time MVP midfielder Tom Schreiber to the roster would give them an additional boost, but the time off may have been too much, as they went scoreless in both the second and fourth quarters in an 11-5 loss. The Outlaws advance to the PLL Championship game in two weeks to meet the winner of the other semifinal between the Boston Cannons and Philadelphia Waterdogs.
Outlaws blow the game open with eight unanswered goals in first half
The Outlaws wasted no time, with Brennan O’Neill scoring just 10 seconds into the game. Sam King (2:29) got the Archers on the board, but the rest of the first half was all Denver. Goals from Jared Bernhardt (5:33) and Pat Kavanagh (8:28) gave the Outlaws a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. The onslaught continued in the second quarter, as the Outlaws outscored Utah 6-0. Jake Taylor (1:32 power play) and O’Neill’s second goal (2:31) made it 5-1. Kavanagh then fired a 2-pointer (3:32) the extend the lead. As the first half wound down, Bernhardt added his second (11:38) and O’Neill his hat trick goal (11:59) for a commanding 9-1 edge going into halftime.
Outlaws advance to play for fourth title in team history
Utah appeared to wake up to start the second half. Goals from Ryan Stines (6:19), Tre Leclaire (7:14 power play), and Beau Pederson (8:01) cut the deficit to 9-4. But Jake Piseno broke the run just over a minute later (9:04) with a 2-pointer to push the Outlaws lead back to seven, 11-4. Archers got a late goal from Connor Fields (11:18), but still trailed 11-5 going into the fourth quarter. That score would be the final margin, as both defenses locked things down in the final 12 minutes with no goals scored.
Other Stats Of Note
Outlaws: O’Neill (3g, 1a); Kavanagh (1g, 1 2-pt g, 1a); Bernhardt (2g); Piseno (1 2-pt g); Taylor (1g); Ryan Terefenko (1a)
Archers: Pederson (1g, 1a); King (1g, 1a); Stines (1g); Leclaire (1g); Fields (1g); Mac O’Keefe (2a)
Brett Dobson (Archers): 17 saves; Logan McNaney (Outlaws): 11 saves
Luke Wierman (Outlaws): 10-17 faceoffs; 5 ground balls
