The Denver Outlaws were unable to hold on to several leads en route to a 13-12 overtime loss to Philadelphia in the semifinals of the Major League Lacrosse playoffs Saturday in Rochester, N.Y.
Goals by Matt Brown and Matt Hanna gave the fourth-seeded Outlaws a 12-9 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. But Denver was outscored 3-0 in the quarter, allowing the defending MLL champions to force overtime. Roy Colsey scored 51 seconds into the sudden-death period to end the Outlaws’ season and the career of retiring Denver goalkeeper Trevor Tierney, who made five of his 19 saves in the final quarter.
Attackmen Brendan Mundorf and Brown, a University of Denver assistant coach, scored three goals and had one assist each for the Outlaws.
Denver trailed 5-2 early in the second quarter, then scored six consecutive goals, with two each by Mundorf and Brown, to take an 8-5 halftime lead.
Colsey led Philadelphia with three goals, including a two-pointer, and one assist.
Philadelphia goalkeeper Brian Dougherty, who was replaced by reserve Kevin Keenan for a 15-minute, 57-second span, returned to the net to make six saves in the fourth quarter and one in overtime.
Philadelphia plays in the championship game today on ESPN2 against Los Angeles, which defeated Rochester 15-14.
