With a playoff berth clinched and a record-setting performance at the turnstiles, the Denver Outlaws could not have asked for more from their debut season.
“We’re pretty happy about it,” general manager Brian Reese said. “Our expectation is to win the championship and become the first expansion team in any sport to win a championship in its first year.”
Reese didn’t survey the history of football, basketball and other American sports to prepare a motivating message for his players. Rather, he researched the topic last winter while laying the groundwork for the season with vice president Mac Freeman and coach Jarred Testa.
“From the beginning, we were preaching to the players that this would be a very special year,” Reese said. “So it has been in the guys’ heads, though we never said, ‘You’d be the first expansion team to do this.”‘
Along with Denver (8-2), Philadelphia (8-2) and Boston (7-3) have claimed postseason berths for the Major League Lacrosse championship weekend at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Semifinals are set for Aug. 25; the title game is scheduled for Aug. 27.
San Francisco (6-4) is in the best position to claim the final berth. The Dragons host L.A. (5-5) on Saturday and winless Chicago (0-10) on Aug. 12.
Each conference champion will play a wild-card team in the semifinals. Wild-card teams are those with the next-best records, regardless of conference. The conference champion with the best record plays the lower-seeded wild-card team.
Denver finishes the regular season at Chicago on Saturday and at Los Angeles (5-5) on Aug. 12.
Third-leading scorer Brian Langtry will miss Saturday’s game with an injury. Langtry sustained a fractured knuckle bone on his left hand when he was slashed during the Outlaws’ 12-11 victory against Long Island last Saturday.
“He’ll have a cast and should miss one week,” Reese said. “He could miss the last regular-season game, too, but he’ll be ready for the playoffs.”
Greg Bastis will take Langtry’s place in the midfield. He made his Outlaws debut July 22 in a victory over Chicago.
“He played well,” Reese said. “He’s athletic and strong.”
Nick Carlson, a member of both local pro lacrosse teams, is off crutches after eight weeks, following knee surgery to repair an ACL tear, partial meniscus tear and micro- fracture.
“Walking around now, it feels good,” Carlson said. “I was a little nervous.”
His patience has been tested while missing the Outlaws’ season.
“It has been awful not being able to play this summer,” Carlson said.
Mammoth trainer Craig Magri is guiding Carlson through rehabilitation three days a week.
“I hope to be ready for the start of training camp in November,” Carlson said. “I’m not really going to know until I get there and start running around, but I am optimistic.”
