Dispatching any greenhorn growing pains, the Denver Outlaws immediately claimed elite status in Major League Lacrosse when they joined the league in 2006. Since then, the team has won nearly three times as many games as it has lost. And the Outlaws played their way to two of the past three MLL championship games.
But herein lies the rub.
Denver has yet to break through. Two championship-game losses (2006 and 2008) and a depressingly close overtime loss in the 2007 semifinals have the Outlaws 2-3 in the MLL playoffs and without any big hardware. They have yet to win the Steinfeld Cup as MLL champions.
This weekend, Denver gets another shot. The Outlaws travel to Annapolis, Md., as the No. 1 seed in the MLL playoffs. Denver (9-3) plays fourth-seed Boston (6-6) at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the MLL championship game Sunday. Both games air on ESPN2.
“We’ve been saying since Day One that we should win a championship,” Outlaws coach and general manager Brian Reese said this week from Maryland. “So we’ve had pressure we put on ourselves all year.”
For the first time, the Outlaws enter the playoffs as the top seed. And, the Outlaws have an advantage they haven’t had before — they dominated on the defensive end this season, allowing a league-low 138 goals.
Behind Lee Zink, who was runner-up in defensive player of the year voting, Denver was staunch on the penalty kill, leading the league with just 10 goals allowed when a man down. And goaltender Jesse Schwartzman led his MLL counterparts in goals against average, at just 11.28.
“We’ve won high-scoring games and low-scoring grind-outs,” Reese said. “But for the most part, our defense has excelled. We have an excellent back line.”
Against Boston, Denver will have to contend with Paul Rabil, the league’s top scorer.
“We’ll have a couple different options for him,” Reese said. “We’ve played him twice this season and held him in check. We really want to limit his touches and make sure he doesn’t get second chances.”
The Outlaws’ best chance at a championship so far has been dampened by the weather. Forecasts note that Hurricane Bill, brewing in the Atlantic Ocean this week, could hit the East Coast this weekend. But Reese said his team is focused only on the chance to play two games in 48 hours.
“Anytime you’re playing with just four teams left, it’s just a matter of playing your best,” he said.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Rapids return after long layoff.
For purposes of momentum, the Rapids’ 4-0 drubbing of Chivas USA on Aug. 8 came at the worst time, if ever there was a bad time to win.
Colorado rolled in that game, getting a goal in the first minute from Pablo Mastroeni — his first goal in more than four years — and a hat trick from MLS’ leading scorer, Conor Casey. It was the Rapids’ second 4-0 victory in a three-game homestand.
But that was two weeks ago, a seeming eternity in the soccer season. Colorado returns to action Saturday for its first game in 15 days when it travels to Chicago to take on the Fire at 4 p.m. The game airs live on Altitude.
Historically speaking, the Rapids will need all the swagger they had in their last outing when facing the Fire. Colorado hasn’t won in Chicago since 2004 and is 3-12-1 all time in Illinois. Chicago, though, is playing its third game in seven days.
Now would be a fine time for the Rapids to string together a streak. With 30 points in the Western Conference and the homestretch of its schedule coming up, Colorado is just above the bar for playoff qualification.
If the Rapids are to solidify their standing in the West and get to the postseason, their chances may swing with Omar Cummings, who quietly leads the league in assists with 10.
As in most away-game weeks, the Rapids will host an official viewing party at Sobo 151 at 151 South Broadway in Denver.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Take the high road.
The U.S Half Marathon at Copper Mountain on Saturday has a deceptively simple course. But don’t be fooled by its out-and-back run that starts and ends in town.
The USA Track and Field-certified race, which heads toward Vail Pass before making a U-turn, hits its highest elevation at 10,500 feet — a no-joke altitude for the real runners.
For the rest of us, there are three other races to enter, including a 12K, a 5K run/walk and a kids run.
Check for information.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Former Buffs entered in Berlin marathon.
Colorado, long an international distance-running hub, will have all kinds of familiar faces in the world championship marathon events Sunday in Berlin. In the women’s race, former University of Colorado runners Kara Goucher and Tera Moody will be in the field. Another former Buff, Edwardo Torres, is in the men’s marathon.
Other area residents will compete for several countries, including Superior’s Justin Young (United States) in the men’s race, Boulder’s Lidia Simon (Romania) and Longmont’s Romanian duo of Nuta Olaru and Luminita Talpos in the women’s marathon.
