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Outlaws, Schwartzman look to extend lead in MLL
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Trevor Tierney warms up Jesse Schwartzman prior to their game against the Toronto
Nationals last weekend. Schwartzman garnered league Defensive Player of the Week
honors for the second time this season and will represent the "Young Guns" in the MLL
All Star Game.
Jesse Schwartzman garnered Major League Lacrosse's Defensive Player of the Week award for the second time this season. Schwartzman recorded 16 saves on 23 shots while allowing only 8 goals against he Toronto Nationals. It was the second consecutive sub-10 goal game by Schwartzman, who anchors the leagues best defense, giving up only 11.10 goals a game. His play and the play of the defense in general is the main reason the Outlaws find themselves atop the standings in the MLL going into this weekends rematch with the Nationals.
Short stick defensive specialist Jim Borell tore his pectoral muscle two weeks ago and will not return this season. While this is a big blow to the defense, it opened the door last weekend for Towson University graduate Casey Cittadino to step in and assert himself on the field. The defensive unit did not miss a beat said Head Coach Brian Reese.
"Casey Cittadino has been part of the team since our very first Season," Reese said. "He's very good."
"Obviously Jimmy went down last week, but Casey stepped right in," said Schwartzman. "It's like nothings changed. Casey's played with us the past four years, so one guys goes down and fill him in and it's fun to be back there."
The luxury of having a veteran player like Cittadino to step in and fill a role cannot be understated. Defensive cohesion is the main factor in keeping your opponent off the board, and when a reserve is able to fit in with the unit right away, it pays immediate dividends. Giving up only 8 goals against one of the most potent offenses in the league is a case in point although Coach Reese is cautious going into this week's rematch.
"I thought it would be a lot tougher, but I don't think they played their best game," Reese said. "We can't expect the same outcome [next week]. These guys will even it up a little bit so we've got to play our best game."
The transition game was clicking for the Outlaws in their first game versus Toronto, resulting in an abundance of scoring chances for Denver. The main benefactor of the transition resurgence was veteran attackman Matt Brown who tallied four goals on the day, most of which came from inside 8-10 yards. A pure Canadian finisher, Brown took advantage of Toronto's undisciplined slide package to get loose inside.
"We were looking to keep the feet moving and getting behind them [on the slide]" Brown said. "Try to catch them ball watching and we were unselfish and did a great job."
Turnovers and sloppy play added to the fast-break game, giving the Nationals a taste of their own medicine. Schwartzman also unleashed his patented field length outlet passes, finding Drew Westervelt in the corner thrice, leading to three scoring chances — including one goal by Brown.
"One of our emphasis was to run hard on these guys," Reese said after the game. "They run hard from defense to offense and they're a great transition team, but we didn't't feel like they got back very quickly. Every time we made a stop we want to get up the field quickly and we have the athletes to do that."
This week's rematch will determine the pecking order of the league heading into the pent-ultimate week before the All Star break. But Reese is loathe to tout his team as the number one contender this early int he season.
"We'll be happy to be number one at the end of the season," he said. "Right now we're just positioning ourselves for the playoffs."
Speaking of the All Star Game, the Outlaws landed 8 players on the rosters this year: Brendan Mundorf, Brian Langtry, Kyle Harrison, and Lee Zink will represent on the "Old School" squad while Westervelt, Max Seibald, Matt Bocklett, and Schwartzman will play for the "Young Guns." Reese and his assistants will coach the "Old School" team.
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