University of Albany Alum Thomson, Queener & Levine Help Toronto Nationals To 1st Major League Lacrosse Championship - UAlbany Sports 2009

After one of the most exciting championship weekends in MLL history, the Toronto Nationals made history of their own by winning their first ever MLL Championship by a score of 10-9 over the top ranked Denver Outlaws in a thrilling performance at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis this afternoon. With just 45 seconds remaining in the game, Toronto’s Shawn Williams scored his second straight goal to win it for the Nationals.

Other than Denver’s early four-goal streak, the game remained a back and forth battle between the top two teams in the league. Earning the Bud Light Playoff MVP was Toronto’s Merrick Thomson, who over the weekend helped seal the Nationals’ fate by scoring six goals in two games.

The first quarter showed promise for another exciting one as the score remained close at 2-1 in Toronto’s favor. To start things off, the Nationals got on the board in less than one minute with a goal from long stick Nick O’Hara. Next, Josh Sims of the Outlaws kept his streak alive after a four-goal performance yesterday by putting up Denver’s first mark of the championship game when he carried the ball from the midfield and fired one in over goalie Doc Schneider’s head. The next play served as one of the most exciting plays of the weekend as Canadian All-Star John Grant Jr. carried the ball around the crease and got around defender Brett Hughes with a behind the back shot that went top corner for the lead.

Both defensive systems came out on fire with attitudes to match as Toronto picked up 11 ground balls and Denver got 9 in the first quarter alone. Shane Walterhoefer, who was an all-star face-off specialist in college, also made his mark today winning 14-of-22 face-off attempts against Toronto’s Geoff Snider.

An uneventful first few minutes of the second quarter ended when Toronto’s Jeff Zwicki got on the board with Toronto’s third goal of the game. Then, after a clear from Denver goalie Jesse Schwartzman, who finished with 14 saves, rookie midfielder Max Seibald saw Matt Brown in front of the net for a goal with 8:42 remaining in the half. And it was only a matter of time before Brendan Mundorf got on a hot streak beginning with a crease goal off a pass from Drew Westervelt to tie it up 3-3. Mundorf followed his first goal with an assist to Brian Langtry from behind the net for a Denver behind-the-back powerplay goal before he scored his third point in just over two minutes to make it 5-3. Toronto’s Zwicki rounded out the first half scoring with a goal to make it 5-4 before the buzzer sounded.

After the break, Toronto Nationals goalie Brett Queener made his first appearance of the weekend in front of a roaring crowd after breaking his right hand during warm-ups at yesterday’s semifinal game. Queener, who is known for his passionate play and his memorable performance at this year’s MLL All-Star freestyle competition, leads the league in save percentage. Stepping in for rookie Schneider, who ended with 12 saves, Queener finished out the game with 11.

Thomson opened up the second half with his first goal of the day before Jeff Sonke took the Outlaws back into the lead, caitching a pass from Mundorf to make it 6-5. Then, Denver’s Mike Ward got on the board off an assist from Matt Bocklett to go ahead by two for the second time today. But the scoring streak would end there as Zwicki scored for a hat trick before Thomson got a goal on a powerplay to tie the game for the fourth time. Four minutes later, Mundorf scored his fifth point of the day to bring the Outlaws into the lead by one.

Despite coming out after tweaking his knee in the first half, Toronto’s John Grant Jr. came back in the game to score the first goal of the final period just 36 seconds into play to even it up at 8-8. But, Denver went ahead yet again with a second goal from Sims before Toronto got a mark from Shawn Williams to tie it at 9-9 with 4:30 left to play.

A grueling final few minutes saw both teams scrambling to get ahead when it mattered most. Then, with just 45 seconds left to play, Williams struck again off of an assist from Walters to finish off the Outlaws and win it 10-9.

By Morgan Kelly