Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Albany Firewolves hosted the San Diego Seals on Sunday afternoon before a record crowd at MVP Arena. On Friday night, Albany took Game 1 of this NLL Semifinal and needed just one more win to reach the NLL Finals. San Diego came in hoping to force a Game 3 next weekend on the West Coast. The Seals were able to jump out to an early lead, but the Firewolves defense and stellar goaltending from Doug Jamieson () clamped down on offensive stars Curtis Dickson (2G, 3A) and Austin Staats (4G) to turn the tide. When the dust settled, the Albany Firewolves emerged victorious and will play in the franchise’s first NLL Finals in team history. Final Score: San Diego-10, Albany-13.
San Diego started the game on the right foot with two goals to start the game. Tre Leclaire (2G, 3A) scored first with a diving goal of a pick-and-roll play and 2:23 off the clock. A Joe Nardella goal off the ensuing faceoff would have tied the game but was called off after a challenge. On the next Seals possession, Staats caught a feed inside and increased the lead to 2-0 just 30 seconds after the first goal. Finally, with 8:05 left to play in the first, the home fans got something to cheer about. Alex Simmons (3G, 4A) drove the net and dove to put the first Albany goal past Seals netminder Christopher Origlieri (33SV). The momentum shifted for the remainder of the quarter. Sam Firth (1G, 2A) tied the game with a powerplay goal just over four minutes later and Travis Longboat (3G) put the Firewolves ahead with 1:27 left. At the end of the first quarter, Albany led San Diego 3-2.
16 minutes worth of penalties were assessed in the second quarter as this playoff game was bringing out the “best” in both sides. Leclaire started this quarter off as well, scoring 2:49 in and tying the game 3-3. Albany did not wait until the latter half of the quarter this time to get on the board. Tye Kurtz (3G, 6A) put the home team ahead again just 42 seconds later. His outside shot trickled into the lower corner of the net while both teams played 4-on-4. Both Ethan Walker (2G, 5A) and Simmons scored on powerplay opportunities to extend the lead to 6-3 with five minutes remaining in the half. San Diego fought back though. Dickson scored on a man-up opportunity with 1:50 remaining. And Staats buried his second goal of the night with 24 seconds remaining. At the half, Albany led San Diego 6-5.
Mirroring the start of the second quarter, San Diego came out in the third quarter to tie the game early. This time it was Dane Dobbie (2G, 2A) with a sidearm from outside 2:27 into play. Also mirroring the previous quarter, Albany answered with a three-goal run. Longboat was left open on the crease after a pick and roll with Simmons. Simmons found him and Longboat had ample time to deke his way to a goal. Kurtz scored 1:45 later with an unassisted transition goal and then Longboat scored his second of the quarter on a power play opportunity with 7:52 left. Albany led 9-6. Dickson answered the call for San Diego late in the quarter again, scoring on a powerplay with 2:41 left, but Simmons had the last word scoring on an Albany man advantage with 40 seconds left. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led San Diego 10-7.
Walker opened the scoring in the final 15 minutes, scoring 1:06 in and extending the lead to four. Staats, bullying his way around the floor whenever he could, answered with a powerplay goal, keeping the Seals within reach. Kurtz though, scored unassisted again with 7:17 remaining bringing the score to 12-8. Dobbie, scoring his 85th career playoff goal and setting a new NLL Playoff record, fired another low goal with 6:02 remaining. Staats followed it up with a goal just under a minute later, but the Albany defense was too much. The Seals could not get any closer in the final five minutes and an empty net goal from Colton Watkinson (1G) with 1:55 left essentially iced the game. Final Score: San Diego-10, Albany-13.
Up Next:
The NLL Finals will begin on Friday, May 17.
Game 1 – The Albany Firewolves will host the Buffalo Bandits on Friday, May 17 at 7:00 PM EST.
Game 2 – The Buffalo Bandits will host the Albany Firewolves on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 PM EST.
Game 3 – TBD if necessary.