Riptide Bring Outlaws to justice with 17-5 victory

[Sonny]

CARSON, CALIFORNIA – Saturday, July 14, 2007 – Bud Light MVP/goalie Mickey Jarboe (Navy '00) finished with 25 saves, midfielder Graham Gill (Navy '05) led all scorers with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) and attackman Spencer Ford (Towson '99) led all players with seven assists as the Los Angeles Riptide beat the Denver Outlaws, 17-5, before a crowd of 3,390 at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.

With the win, the Riptide's first-ever in five all-time games against the Outlaws, LA improved to 4-0 at The Home Depot Center this season and 6-2 overall. With the loss, Denver dropped to 4-4 on the season and two games behind the Riptide in the race for the Western Conference title. There are four games remaining on the 2007 season schedule for both teams.

"It meant a lot. It's our first win versus that franchise," said Jarboe, who with six wins this season is tied for the league lead in Major League Lacrosse. "That win puts us in a good position in the Western Conference. It means a lot to the whole team and the organization. Just top to bottom I feel we had a couple of lows last game in the offensive and defensive ends, and in this game we played sixty minutes hard. Everybody just played their role," concluded Jarboe.

The Riptide, who tied a franchise record with their fourth straight victory, led the Outlaws 5-1 after one quarter thanks mostly to Jarboe and Gill. Jarboe finished the quarter with nine saves, and the only goal he allowed was scored with Denver on the power play. Meanwhile, five different players scored for the Riptide in the quarter and four of the five goals were assisted. Gill led all scorers in the quarter with three points (1 goal, 2 assists).

Gill also assisted on a two-point goal from midfielder Sean Lindsay (Syracuse ‘ 04) to open the second quarter and newly acquired attackman/midfielder Chazz Woodson (Brown '05; acquired from Boston for midfielder Kevin Dougherty on July 10) scored his first Riptide goal about four minutes later to give the home team a lead of 8-1.

Gill continued to have the hot hand as he recorded a power play goal later in the second quarter and Woodson pushed the LA lead to 10-3 with his second goal of the quarter. Through 30 minutes the Riptide held a 10-4 lead and Gill led all scorers with five points (2 goals, 3 assists). Jarboe was also a major factor in the quarter, adding another eight saves to give him 17 saves at the half.

The Riptide held the Outlaws completely off the scoreboard in the third quarter and took a 14-4 lead after 45 minutes. The quarter featured the third and fourth goals of the game from Gill, the second goal of the game for attackman/midfielder Wes Green (Adelphi '06) and the second goal of the game (scored on the power play) for attackman Terry Riordan (Hopkins '95). Ford assisted on all four goals in the quarter and had a team-leading five assists through three quarters of play. Ford entered Saturday's game with a league-leading total of 27 assists.

LA outscored Denver 3-1 in the final quarter to post the impressive 12-goal victory. The fourth quarter featured another goal from both Gill (on the power play) and Woodson, and another assist from Ford. Jarboe stopped 25 of the 30 shots he faced before he was relieved by goalie Matt Russell (Navy '06) with five minutes remaining in the game.

The Riptide return to action when they meet the Washington Bayhawks at Georgetown University on Saturday, July 21 at 1:00 p.m.

The Riptide's next home game is set for Saturday, July 28 versus the San Francisco Dragons at The Home Depot Center, with the game scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Denver (4-4) 1-3-0-1 / 5
Los Angeles (6-2) 5-5-4-3 / 17

One-Point Goals:
DEN – Mike Law 1, Brian Langtry 1, Geoff Snider 1, Drew Westervelt 1, Jeff Sonke 1.
LA – Graham Gill 5, Chazz Woodson 3, Greg Downing 2, Terry Riordan 2, Wes Green 2, Matt Casey 1.

Two-Point Goals:
LA – Sean Lindsay 1.

Assists:
DEN – Brendan Mundorf 1.
LA – Spencer Ford 7, Graham Gill 3, Terry Riordan 1, Sean Lindsay 1.

Saves:
DEN – Jesse Schwartzman 2 (15:45, 6 goals allowed), Trevor Tierney 6 (44:15, 10 goals allowed).
LA – Mickey Jarboe 25 (55:10, 5 goals allowed), Matt Russell 0 (4:50, 0 goals allowed).

Attendance: 3,390