After having their 25-game regular-season win streak snapped last weekend with a loss at Charlotte, the Outlaws (5-1) are ready to start a new steak beginning with their game against the New York Lizards on Saturday night at Sports Authority Field.
Denver is 14-2 against the Lizards all time—its most wins against any MLL franchise—and has never dropped a game against them at home. New York (3-3) is coming off of a loss to the Launch last weekend and Denver is looking to bounce back after its first regular-season loss since June 23, 2012.
In last weekend’s game at Charlotte, Curtis Dickson made his MLL debut and left quite the impression. Dickson scored four goals in the game and dished for an assist. Denver head coach B.J, O’Hara said it’s just the beginning and that he’s hoping to pair Dickson with some of Denver’s other attack men.
“We were thrilled when Curtis signed his contract,” O’Hara said. “We were extremely thrilled with what we got out of him and I think that’s only going to get better.”
O’Hara also said Denver’s lineup on Saturday will feature John Grant Jr. who did not play in last weekend’s game.
On the offensive, the Lizards are led by Rob Pannell and Max Seibald. Pannell has 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists while Seibald has picked up 12 points on 10 goals and two assists this year.
New York’s biggest strength, though, is its faceoff game. Midfielder Greg Gurenlian leads the league with a .606 faceoff percentage. He will line up against the MLL’s all-time leader in faceoff wins, Denver’s Anthony Kelly, and between the two faceoff veterans they have accounted for a total of 4,593 career faceoff attempts.
In the crease Drew Adams is averaging 11.29 goals against per game and has a save percentage of .524 this season.
“New York is obviously a very, very talented team—particularly on the offensive end,” O’Hara said. “They feature, I think, two Tewaaraton Trophy winners (on attack) and one Tewaaraton Trophy winner in the midfield. So they’ve got an All-Star cast…They’re going to be a formidable opponent and we’ve got to bounce back and play our game on both ends of the field.”
After the game on Saturday the Outlaws are proud to host Film on the Field. Fans are invited to head down to the field afterwards to watch The Amazing Spider-Man.