ALLSTON, Mass. — Time was winding down, and the two teams stared each other in the eye. Jeff Sonke was determined not to blink first.
The Denver Outlaws and the Los Angeles Riptide traded the lead nine times in Saturday’s Major League Lacrosse semifinal at Harvard Stadium, but the midfielder made sure Denver was left standing.
With 57 seconds left, he stepped inside the arc and fired at the Riptide’s Mickey Jarboe, beating the MLL keeper of the year through the wickets and sending the Outlaws to the MLL final with a 13-12 win. They will face Rochester today (11 a.m. MDT), looking to capture their first championship in the Outlaws’ three-year history.
“I’m on cloud nine right now,” said Sonke, an eight- year MLL veteran, speaking as fans and family shouted his name from the stands. “The game just got shorter and shorter and shorter. One big play was going to change it.”
Denver was sloppy early on, missing the net 13 times in the first half, and L.A. took an early 3-0 lead.
But Ryan Powell (three goals) made sure the Riptide did not pull away. The two-time MVP got Denver on the board at 2:22 of the first, then he followed Brian Langtry’s marker with a nice feed to Benson Erwin, who tied the game at 3-all.
With the game tied again midway though the fourth quarter, Kevin Huntley cradled, crow-hopped and converted a two-point shot — the first one of the match — to give L.A. an 11-9 edge. Undeterred, Sonke scored from beyond to tie it with 3:37 left.
“I knew we needed it, without a doubt,” Sonke said.
With time winding down, Sonke did it again. Teammate Peter Striebel drew two defenders with him, leaving Sonke camped at the top of the key. He took Striebel’s feed and fired between Jarboe’s ankles to give Denver the lead.
The Riptide’s Greg Downing tied the match at 12 with 1:27 to go, setting up Sonke’s dramatic ending for the Outlaws.
“That’s why I came to Denver,” said Powell, who was traded to the Outlaws this spring. “I haven’t had the opportunity to be in this game in a while, so it’s huge. That’s why you give up every weekend of your summer to travel around. It’s not for the money, it’s for the opportunity to win a championship.”
The Outlaws will face Rochester, a 16-15 overtime winner over the Philadelphia Barrage. Earlier, Powell watched from the sidelines as his older brother, Casey, scored the winner.
“I hope he has a good game. I hope I have a good game, and I hope we win,” Powell said.
