MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

#1 Ohio Machine vs #2 Denver Outlaws

Date: Saturday, August 19, 2017
Time: 6pm Central
Location: Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas
Television: CBS Sports Network
Streaming: Not through CBS, that’s for sure. Check your local cable system’s online streaming selection to see if they’ll allow you to see CBSSN through them.
Twitter Updates: @MLL_Lacrosse

If this all sounds very familiar to you, well, you’re not wrong.

In a rematch of the 2016 MLL Championship Game, Denver takes on yet again top seeded Ohio in an effort to become the first back-to-back Major League Lacrosse champions since 2012 & 2013 when the Chesapeake Bayhawks won two straight titles. Denver is also trying for their third title in four years, while the Machine are attempting to win the franchise’s first Steinfeld Trophy.

Denver reached the championship game with a 15-8 win over Rochester in the semifinals. The Rattlers scored the first two goals of the game, but the Outlaws answered with six of the next seven markers and put the game out of reach with a nine goal run bridging the third and fourth quarters. Eric Law led the way with three goals for Denver, while Matt Kavanaugh tallied six assists in the win.

Ohio’s path to the title game was a little dicier than Denver’s, as the Machine was knotted at seven at halftime with Florida in the semifinals. Ohio grabbed an 8-4 margin in the third quarter, though, thanks to three goals from Peter Baum, and they held on from there for the 18-13 victory. Tom Schreiber matched Baum with three goals for the team high in the game.

Why are we talking about the MLL title game here on a Marquette website? Well, Marquette graduate, former All-American, and former men’s lacrosse Director of Operations B.J. Grill is a key cog for the Denver defense. Grill played in all 14 regular season games for the Outlaws, averaging just under two ground balls per game. He forced one turnover in Denver’s semifinal victory and came away with five ground balls.