ALLSTON, Mass. — The grounds outside Harvard Stadium, with picnic tables and crowds of young, smiling lacrosse fans, resembled a Sunday afternoon cookout.
After the game, players from the Denver Outlaws and Rochester Rattlers milled around with the attendees of the Major League Lacrosse championship game. With 16,615 patrons coming to see four nonlocal teams play, MLL could call the playoff weekend a shining success.
Before the block party, though, there was a beatdown.
The Outlaws hung tough until halftime, but then the Rattlers dominated, allowing nothing but one garbage-time goal. Flashy and skilled, Rochester danced its way to a 16-6 win. Denver has made the playoffs every year since its 2006 birth but still hasn’t hoisted the Steinfeld Cup.
“It was a tough one,” said Outlaws midfielder Jeff Sonke, the overtime hero of Saturday’s semifinal win. “They definitely outplayed us. I don’t know. I’m kind of shell-shocked as to what happened.”
Sonke was held scoreless, and he and his teammates never quite sniffed the lead.
“It seemed like every time we got something, they answered right back. They’re a veteran, very talented team. I’m disappointed, but this was a great group of guys,” Denver coach and general manager Brian Reese said.
Meanwhile, the game was a coming-out party for Brett Queener, Rochester’s 23-year-old rookie keeper. He made 10 saves — some spectacular — but did the most damage with his legs.
Replacing veteran Mike Levin at the half with a 6-5 lead, Queener saved the first shot he saw and took off running.
Sonke said “hello” by hitting him at the 40-yard line, but that didn’t rattle the keeper, or the Rochester attack. Queener held the ball and fed a teammate up the field, and soon after, Rochester’s Joe Walters whipped one low into the net, giving the Rattlers a 7-5 edge. Two minutes later, a tic-tac-toe play went from Colin Doyle to John Grant to Jordan Hall in the slot, who went low left to make it 8-5.
Sonke wasn’t surprised the hit didn’t fix what ailed the Outlaws, saying, “He was probably more fired up about it than I was.”
Jeff Zywicki, who had a game-high six goals, scored on the man-up, then added another 23 seconds later to make it 10-5. Queener earned an assist, passing up a good scoring chance to feed Zywicki for Rochester’s 12th tally, then capped the day with a leaping between-the-legs feed to an onrushing teammate that got the crowd on its feet.
“It just kind of snowballed,” Reese said.
Sonke won an MLL title in 2005 with the Baltimore Bayhawks, but after the game he watched as the Rattlers mugged with the trophy and Rochester’s Doyle threw his jersey, gear and stick into a sea of fans.
“I want to feel that again,” Sonke said. “Without a doubt.”
Denver 3 2 0 1 — 6
Rochester 4 2 6 4 — 16
First quarter: Roch, Grant Jr. (unassisted) 5:36; Roch, Zywicki (unassisted) 7:09; Roch, Merrill (Doyle) 10:28; Den, R. Powell (unassisted) 11:52; Roch, Grant Jr. (unassisted) 13:00; Den, Langtry (2pt)(Brown) 13:32. Second quarter: Roch, Zywicki (C. Powell) 2:25; Roch, Grant Jr. (Schiller) 2:49; Den, Striebel (unassisted) 12:56; Den, Westervelt (R. Powell) 13:49. Third quarter: Roch, Walters (Doyle) 3:28; Roch, Hall (Grant Jr.) 5:32; Roch, Zywicki (pp) (Doyle) 9:32; Roch, Zywicki (Joe Walters) 9:55; Roch, Grant Jr. (pp) (Walters) 11:11; Roch, Zywicki (Queener) 13:46. Fourth quarter: Roch, Walters (Prout) 0:34; Roch, Bucktooth (C. Powell) 2:07; Roch, Zywicki (unassisted) 4:50; Roch, Dutton (C. Powell) 7:48; Den, Brown (R. Powell) 11:45. Power-play opportunities — Denver, 0-3; Rochester 2-8. Shots on goal — Denver, 21. Rochester, 29.
