- The Utah Archers lost 15-10 to the Denver Outlaws, dropping to 0-2.
- Sam King scored a hat trick, but the Archers' injuries hindered their performance.
- Coach Chris Bates expressed disappointment, acknowledging fan support and promising improvement post-bye.
HERRIMAN — The Utah Archers got a performance fit for a King, and are still the monarchs of lacrosse on the Wasatch Front.
But when the sun set on the second homecoming weekend for Utah's professional lacrosse outfit, it was a Rocky Mountain rival that was sitting atop the west.
Pat Kavanaugh had two goals and four assists as the Denver Outlaws clinched a playoff berth with a 15-10 win Saturday night over the Archers in front of a sold-out Zions Bank Stadium that dropped Utah to 0-2 in its homecoming weekend.
Sam King recorded three goals for the Archers (3-6), the second professional hat trick for the rookie out of Harvard.
But Brennan O'Neill also had 6 points, including a pair of 2-point goals that lifted the Outlaws into the postseason with a 6-2 record and a homecoming weekend of their own only a week away.
Absent starters Tom Schreiber and Grant Ament (among others) due to injury, the two-time defending PLL champion Archers couldn't keep up with the Western Conference leaders before Utah's bye week in the penultimate week of the regular season.
"Disappointed," Archers coach Chris Bates said after a long sigh. "I give our guys credit; they fought and fought and fought. But tough momentum plays in critical moments have been the narrative of the year: We need the next play, and it's tough to ride momentum.
"All credit to our fans. I think that disappoints us as much as anything. We came out here, we were excited to be here, the fan support is awesome, and we wanted to reward that. To say we're disappointed from that standpoint is an understatement — and we're now in a tough spot. It's going to be a long two weeks with the bye, but we'll come back swinging in Boston."
After trailing 3-1 in the first quarter, King scored his second of the match (and ninth of his breakout rookie campaign) to tie the match at 3-3. Mason Woodward tied it again with a 2-point goal in the final minute of the half en route to a 6-6 stalemate at the break.
Ryan Ambler fed Dyson Williams a goal that put the Archers in front, 7-6 out of the half. Jake Piseno's 2-point goal help put the Outlaws back in front, but King capped his hat trick with six seconds left in the third to cut the host's deficit to 9-8 after three quarters.
But Utah's moments of momentum were often countered. Denver's, not so much.
Williams' over-the-shoulder goal 93 seconds into the fourth quarter tied the match at 9-apiece. But Ryan Terefenko's 2-point goal on the next possession, and O'Neill capped a 6-0 run with a 2-pointer of his own to put the match squarely back in favor of the Western Conference leaders with 4:25 to go.
King assisted on a goal to Mac O'Keefe to finish off his 4-point night for the Archers, who have lost five of their last six.
"He's one of the most complete attackman that I've ever been around, and I feel like I've been around a lot of special players," Ambler said of the All-Ivy League rookie. "He does all of the fundamentally sound things extremely well, but he's so tough and so smart. It's been a please watching him evolve every single game.
"I think you are starting to see, he's got confidence. To me, we just have to find ways to get him more touches ... When balls are going through him, good things tend to happen."
Utah will be off until the Aug. 8-9 weekend in Boston, while the Outlaws head to Denver with a homecoming weekend that includes a tilt with East leaders New York Atlas on ABC.
And after O'Neill was booed every time he touched the ball by an onslaught of Archers fans, the trip home can't come soon enough.
"We're looking forward to having some positive vibes coming out of the stands for this team," Outlaws head coach Tim Soudan quipped.
