Matteo Nobile, Correspondent San Diego Seals
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Mike McGinnis
The Pechanga Arena in San Diego was the stage for the first round playoff matchup between the San Diego Seals (10-8) and the Calgary Roughnecks (10-8). Just over 5,000 fans came to support their home town Seals in their effort to make the second round of the playoffs in their inaugural season. The Seals maintained a lead for most of the game; they only trailed within the first minute and again for the last half of the fourth quarter after the Roughnecks scored the final goal of the game. The Roughnecks star duo of Curtis Dickson (4G, 3A) and Dane Dobbie (3G, 4A) were too much for the San Diego. Dobbie went into the playoffs with 115 points which led the NLL.
The Seals were able to bounce back offensively from their last regular season game in which they struggled. They had players who stepped up in the absence of rookie Austin Staats but their offense was not the same without him. Both starting goalies led the league in saves for the regular season. Frank Scigliano was second with 707 saves and Christian Del Bianco led the NLL with 713 saves. Both net-minders had outstanding performances in Monday night’s game, Scigliano allowed 12 goals on 43 shots; and Del Bianco 11 on 54 shots giving him the first star of the game. The Roughnecks will host the Colorado Mammoth (6-12) whose upset victory over the Saskatchewan Rush (11-7) sent them into round two. The season is over for San Diego but their future looks bright, they have both young and veteran talent and it was an overall a great season for this new team. Final Score: Calgary Roughnecks 12 – San Diego Seals 11.
Curtis Dickson (4G, 3A) didn’t waste any time scoring putting the Roughnecks up just 25 seconds into the game shooting around his defender. San Diego would rattle off three starting with Casey Jackson (1G, 2A) responding with a far outside shot to beat Del Bianco tying it up; Connor Fields (1G) was next as he cut through the middle and received a pass right on the crease, faked right and scored on the left side; and Turner Evans (3G, 1A) kept the Seals scoring run going with an outside shot that found the top left corner. Dickson would stop the run scoring in the last second of the first quarter. He uses his defender as a screen and put the ball between the legs of Scigliano to get his second of the night. End of the first quarter and San Diego held the lead 3-2.
The Seals would get the first goal of the quarter on man down. Connor Kearnan (1G, 1A) came off of the bench and received a pass in front to give San Diego a two-goal lead. With both teams having one in the box Dan Dawson (1G, 4A) found Evans on the crease for a quick stick goal. Calgary would notch three power-play goals in a row. Dobbie looked to shoot then pulled it in to beat his defender and got the shot off in the middle scoring on Scigliano. After the Seals got hit with a five-minute major, Jesse King (2G, 2A) would shoot from the outside, Scigliano got a piece of it but the ball would trickle past the goal line. Dobbie notched his second man up goal on the major penalty, this one coming from an outside shot from the point. After the penalty ran out Dawson posts up his defender, backed him down then rolled to the net giving him an open look on the crease putting the Seals up 6-5. About three and half would tick off the clock before Dickson came in off the bench, received the pass and dove cross-crease to tie the game. At the end of the first half the score was tied at 6 apiece.
The Seals got the first goal of the half from the stick of Brandon Clelland (1G) for a breakaway goal. A beautiful behind the back pass from Dawson found a cutting Kyle Buchanan (2G, 4A) and gave him a wide open shot on the crease and San Diego would go back up by two. The Roughnecks would answer back with a give and go in transition that resulted in a quick-stick goal on the crease for Mitch Wilde (1G, 1A). Another five minutes of great defense would run off the clock before the Seals would notch two more. Tor Reinholdt (1G) pushed the ball up the floor to score in transition after beating the Roughnecks defender in a one-on-one situation; and Kearnan put a pass on a rope and made it through the middle finding Buchanan on the crease for a quick stick goal. And just like that, Dobbie cut through the middle received a pass in the middle scoring far side for the Roughnecks and stopped the Seals two-goal run. Score at the end of the third quarter: San Diego 10—Calgary 8.
Fifteen to go and Calgary quickly got the first two of the quarter to tie the game at 10 apiece. The first from King as he got the ball right on the doorstep and scored far side; and Tyler Burton (1G) scored the second in transition with an underhand shot that got in-between Scigliano and his right post. San Diego’s loan goal of the frame came off Evans looking to come around high then switched directions giving him enough room to get a shot off to take the lead 11-10. The Roughnecks immediately responded to tie the game back up with a goal from an outside shot on the run for Riley Loewen (1G, 1A). The Roughnecks would take the lead at 7:04 as Dickson came around a screen and scored with a low to high shot. And that was it as the final eight neither team could get past the opposing gate keepers. Final Score: Calgary 12—San Diego 11.
UP NEXT:
The Roughnecks (1-0) will host the Colorado Mammoth (1-0) for Round Two of the 2019 Playoffs on Friday May 10, game time 9:00 p.m. EST.
Matteo Nobile, Correspondent San Diego Seals
Lacrosse is Awesome©