Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: NLL
The San Diego Seals (7-9) headed east to face the Georgia Swarm (10-6) for a matinee game on Sunday April 12, 2026. The Swarm wanted a win so they could remain higher up in the standings, while the Seals were in a battle for a playoff berth as a win could put them into eighth place, the cut off for the playoffs. The Swarm have been inconsistent in scoring this season which allowed San Diego to use a strong first half and a balanced offensive effort to hold the Swarm to just seven goals. The Seals would control possession throughout the night and capitalize on key power-play opportunities while holding off a late fourth-quarter push from Georgia. Final Score: Seals 9—Swarm 7.
San Diego opened the scoring at 1:57 of the first quarter when Wes Berg (2g, 4) finished a play set up by Tre Leclaire and Austin Steenhuis to give the Seals an early 1–0 lead. They extended their advantage on the power play at 9:35 when Ben McIntosh (3g, 1a) buried a shot assisted by Berg and Zach Currier. Georgia answered back at 6:38 when Nolan Byrne (3g) converted a pass from Shayne Jackson and Kaleb Benedict cutting the deficit to 2–1. San Diego would go man up for the second time in the first off two Swarm penalties with 5:50 remaining. Late in the quarter Zach Currier (1g, 3a) scored on the man advantage at 3:48 sending the Seals into the second quarter ahead 3–1.
The second would see the teams go back and forth on the score sheet with San Diego pushing its lead to three early in the frame. Chris Kavanagh (1g) scored 3:03 in off pass from Steenhuis and Eli Gobrecht. Georgia responded two minutes later when Jeff Henrick (1g) found the back of the net with an assist from Kieran Tarbell. Less than 30 seconds later, Noah Armitage (2g) would restore the Seals three-goal cushion, finishing a play from Berg and Trevor DiCicco. With 6:57 remaining in the half, Zach Currier would head to the sin bin for at least two and Georgia capitalized. It took 19 seconds for Shayne Jackson (2g, 3a) to find the back of the net off feeds from Bryan Cole and Benedict and they had closed the gap to two. But San Diego did not let up and would close the half strong when Berg tallied his second of the game with 2:59 left in the frame giving the Seals a 6–3 halftime lead.
Georgia was only able to tally one marker in the third off a power play. Jackson opened it up with what turned out to be a penalty filled 15 minutes. He got the feed from Cole 3:11 in cutting the Seals’ lead to two. But San Diego responded quickly when Armitage scored just 19 seconds later. The scoring stalled for almost 10 minutes while the fans watched a defensive battle by both net minders until the Seals struck again putting up their third power play tally of the day. McIntosh netted his second goal of the game with 1:46 remaining extending the lead to 8–4. They would also be nabbed for not only a late holding call, but an unsportsmanlike call with 49 seconds left in the third which allowed the Swarm to start off the fourth with time remaining on the man up.
The Swarm mounted a comeback attempt in the final quarter. Lyle Thompson (1g, 2a) opened the scoring 1:08 in on the power play and the score sheet showed 8-5 still in favor of San Diego. Once again, the fans watched a track meet with neither team finding twine for another 10. Then with 3:41 left in the contest, another Seals penalty gave the Swarm their final man up on the night. They would capitalize and pull within two goals 18 seconds into the power play when Byrne tallied his second. A minute later, McIntosh would complete his hat trick at 2:24, finishing a play set up by Currier and DiCicco. Although the Swarm tried, they could only add one more with just 12 seconds remaining with Byrne notching his hat trick. Final Score: Seals 9—Swarm 7.
Stars of the Game:
Ben McIntosh –San Diego Seals: 3g, 1a
Wes Berg – San Diego Seals: 2g, 41
Nolan Byrne – Georgia Swarm: 3g
GAME STATS:
San Diego Seals—SOG 53; Saves 33; Sv% .825; FO 15-19; PP 3-5; PIM 12; LB 79; TO 29
Georgia Swarm—SOG 40; Saves 44; Sv% .830; FO 4-10; PP 4-5; PIM 18; LB 48; TO 32
NEXT UP:
Both teams will close out the season with doubleheaders each going against the same team.
The San Diego Seals (7-9) will host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (7-9) on Friday April 17, 2026, game time 10:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPNU & ESPN+ for fans in the USA, while the fans in Canada get to see the action on TSN+.
Then on Saturday April 18, 2026, the Seals will head to Vegas for their final match up of the regular season, game time 10:00 p.m. EST. This game will be televised on ESPN+ for fans in the USA and TSN+ for fans in Canada.
These games will be pivotal for both because depending upon who comes out on top, will determine which team will grab that eighth and final play off spot.
The Georgia Swarm (10-6) will host the Rochester Knighthawks (6-10) on Saturday April 18, 2026, game time 4:00 p.m. EST. Then the Swarm will head up to Rochester on Sunday April 19, 2026, for the final game of the NLL Regular season. Game time 11:00 a.m. EST.
Both games for the Swarm can be seen on ESPN+ and TSN+. All four games will also be televised on NLL+.
Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©