Denver Head Coach B.J. O’Hara
Opening Statement: “What a game. What a showcase for Major League Lacrosse. The two top teams in the league in a one-goal battle. I don’t think you could have drawn it up any better. Just a beautiful night.”
On being the only coach to win the MLL Championship with two teams: “That means I’m old. I’ve been around a while. I’m so happy for the Denver Outlaws organization. They do it right. I appreciate the confidence they had in me to take over this year. I inherited a great bunch of guys that were dedicated from day one to getting themselves to this game and hopefully get ourselves a trophy, and that’s exactly what they did.”
On John Grant, Jr.: “Well, that’s why we brought him to Denver in the offseason. He’s 5-5 now in MLL Championship games. Didn’t look so good there for a while – his record was going to stay. But he led the way on the offensive end, and then we had great performances at the other end by a really good defensive group and our goalkeeper. Anthony Kelly played on one leg and won us a lot of faceoffs. That’s what was able to get us back in the game was we had some possessions.”
On Denver’s comeback: “That wasn’t the game plan to get down early, I guarantee you that. We started to settle down a little bit on offense. We threw the ball away a lot early, and I think every time we turned it over in the first quarter it led to a goal at the other end. So we tried to make our possessions last a little longer, get everybody involved. We still had a little trouble getting it past John Galloway. He played a great game, and finally we had his number at the end and hit some big shots.”
On the two-point goal: “Some people who don’t know the MLL scoff at that [two-point] rule, but that’s what it can do. Such an exciting play. Jeremy Sieverts leads the league in that effort, and we’ve become used to seeing him do that. That was a huge one. Boy that was a huge one.”
Denver Attackman John Grant, Jr.
On being MVP in back-to-back Championships: “That doesn’t matter. I really wanted to help this team win. They deserve it. They’ve been so close for so many years and to finally get over that hump is something special for Mr. Bowlen all the way down to the guys who help with the towels. So this is a real big pivotal moment for this organization. And I hope there’s more to come from the Outlaws.”
On his performance: “I think I was playing pretty poorly in the first half. A lot of behind-the-backs that weren’t going in, and I was holding the ball a lot. At certain times I felt like I had a chance to help this team, and I’ve been here before, just used my experience. I tried to get the team rallying a bit. But what can I say? Our team stepped it up in the second half. Big plays from a lot of guys tonight, and we needed every man on this one. So it was a big win for us.”
On playing in Atlanta: “I’ve been playing since the very beginning of this league and this is one of the best venues I’ve ever played in. As far as the turf and the fans, it was almost like this place was built for a game like this. Two great teams played a great game, and these fans were on top of it. It was awesome. I’m glad I was here for it.”
Denver Goalie Jesse Schwartzman
On winning the Championship: “It means the world. We did this for Mr. Bowlen who is back home battling illness. He’s a tremendous owner. It’s a first-class organization from top to bottom. Unfortunately it took us eight years to do it, but it’s worth it, and I couldn’t be happier or more proud of this team. We fought all game, and we were down all game. Just the resilience and the confidence we have in each other. We stuck the course, and we won.”
