Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Ryan McCullough / Toronto Rock
The No. 6 Seed Toronto Rock (2-0) hosted Game One of the NLL Semifinals against the No. 7 Seed San Diego Seals (1-1) on Friday night May 1,2026. The Rock had beaten the Seals twice already this season even though San Diego has dominated the face off dot with Trevor Baptiste winning all 23 face offs the first time they played, and 12 of 16 the second game. Toronto knew their faceoff play needed to be better in the playoffs. They picked up Nick Rowlett during the season, he has improved each game out and during the Quarterfinals against Saskatchewan last Saturday, was able to almost win 50% of the draws going 14 for 30. Toronto started off quick leading by four after the first quarter, but San Diego fought back to tie the game at the half. They matched each other in the third, and it was tied going into the fourth. San Deigo would take their first lead of the game five minutes into the final frame, but a three-goal run in the last eight minutes helped the Rock come away with a hard fought battle in Game One. Final Score: Rock 14—Seals 12.
The contest got off to a bit of a slow start, but the home team would finally open it up five minutes into the first quarter. Sam English (3G, 2A) picked up a loose ball at center, went in all alone and beat Chris Origlieri (14 saves) with a fake to the far side and a shot to the short side for the 1 – 0 lead for Toronto. The Seals tied it up under three minutes later. Dylan Watson (2G, 2A) received a pass from Zach Currier (1G, 3A, 17LB) behind the net and he dunked it over Nick Rose’s (44 saves, 1A) shoulder. Two minutes later Mark Matthews (3G, 1A) would fire a high-to-low shot short side giving the Rock a 2 – 1 lead. The Rock would double their lead 30 seconds later. Challen Rogers (3G, 2A) beat his man, went in all alone on Origlieri, beat him with a shot to the short side and it was 3 – 1 Rock. Less than a minute later while in transition, Hugh Kelleher (2A) passed to Owen Hiltz (2G, 1A) who caught the ball, dove across the crease, and put it far side to end the first quarter with the Rock leading 4 – 1. The shots on net after the first quarter were San Diego 13 and Toronto 12.
San Diego would dominate the second outscoring Toronto 5-2. Their first tally was a minute and a half into the second, Watson would score his second goal on the night. He received a cross-floor pass from Ben McIntosh (3G, 1A), took a high-to-low shot, beat Rose to the short side and the score board showed 4 – 2 for the Rock. Just over a minute later, the Seals would get that one back. Tre LeClaire (3G, 4A) took a high-to-low bounce shot that went five-hole, cutting into the Rock lead and it was 4 – 3. Toronto fired back less than a minute later. Chris Boushy (2G, 1A) came out from behind the net, fired a side arm shot that beat Origlieri stick side and it was 5 – 3 for the Rock. But, once again, the Seals would come right back. Noah Armitage (1G, 1A) came out from the corner, jumped and his high-to-high shot went over Rose’s shoulder, and it was a one goal game again at 5 – 4. LeClaire tied the game at 5’s when he fired a high-to-low shot from way outside that went stick side will a whole lotta lacrosse left in the frame. After making a couple of saves that caught him in the mask, Origlieri had to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion and did not return. Cam Dunkerley (18 saves) would get the nod and take over halfway through the second quarter. Boushy said “Hello” to Dunkerley when he came off the bench, got a pass from Josh Jubenville and his one-time catch and shoot beat Dunkerley through the legs to reestablish a lead for the Rock at 6 – 5. San Diego would respond with less than five minutes left in the second quarter. Connor Robinson (2G, 1A) took a high-to-low shot from just inside the restraining line that hit Rose on the inside of the leg and went in to tie the game at six. Unfortunately for Toronto they’d get called for an “major” illegal body check with 1:08 left in the second, which they would carry into the third. The shots on goal at the end of the first half were Toronto 25 and San Diego 24. Score at the end of two: Rock 6—Seals 6.
Toronto would start the second half killing off the remaining four minutes of the five-minute major and instead of letting San Diego tally a power play marker, they’d put up a shorthanded marker 1:34 in. Latrell Harris (1A) passed to Matthews off the bench, he took a high-to-high shot that went over the shoulder giving the Rock a 7 – 6 lead. Scoring stalled for almost seven minutes while fans watched a goalie battle. The scoring drought was finally stopped by Toronto as they would double that lead while in transition. Josh Jubenville (4A) passed to Kelleher who fed it to Dan Craig (1G, 1A) and his bounce shot went five-hole to make it 8 – 6. Ten seconds later, off the ensuing faceoff, English would take it in all alone, fired a shot short side and for the first time since close to the end of the first, the Rock had taken a three-goal lead, 9 – 6 with five minutes left in the frame. But a minute later, the Seals would respond. Currier picked up a loose ball, beat his defender down low and his shot beat Rose over the far shoulder, and it was 9 – 7. This would start the only three-goal run for San Diego and they’d also keep Toronto out of the net for the remainder of the third. Just over a minute later, McIntosh cut through the middle, received a pass from Armitage and his quick stick shot beat Rose over the shoulder, they had cut the Rock lead to one at 9 – 8 and still had 3:58 left on the clock. The Seals would close it out with 30 seconds left in the third. Wes Berg (7A) passed to LeClaire behind the net, he came in front and beat Rose to the short side to tie it at 9-9. The shots on goal were San Diego 39 and Toronto 35.
Fifty-five seconds into the fourth, San Diego would get hit with a holding call and it only took 15 seconds for Toronto to capitalize. Hiltz received a pass from Matthews, and his bounce shot beat went far side to give the Rock the lead at 10 – 9. A minute later, Toronto got nabbed for an illegal cross-checking penalty giving the Seals their own man up, and they would also capitalize. Robinson fired a sidearm shot that went stick side to tie the game again at 10 apiece. After four minutes of some stellar net-minding, the Seals would take their first lead on the night. McIntosh took a high-to-low bounce shot over his defender and it beat Rose through the legs for an 11 – 10 lead. This put some spark into the Toronto offense, and they would go on another three-goal run. A minute later Rogers fired a high-to-low shot from the top glove side, and it was tied at 11. But once again, scoring would stall and the defenses on both sides got hot. Finally, with just 1:33 left in the game, Matthews would beat three defenders, set up, and fire a high-to-low bounce shot stick side for his hat trick goal and it was 12 – 11 for the Rock. It took only 30 seconds for them to put up another. Rogers backed in on his defender, turned and beat Dunkerley with a shot to the short side giving him a hat trick goal to make it 13 – 11 for Toronto with 1:08 left in the game. But the Seals were not giving up without a fight. McIntosh got a pass from Robinson behind the net, dove in front and beat Rose to the short side to get the Seals within one again at 13 – 12. San Diego chose to go with the extra attacker in an effort to tie it up, but it failed. Rose made the save, passed the ball up the floor to English and he put the ball in the empty net for his hat trick goal with 23 seconds on the ticker to clinch the win. Final Score: Rock 14—Seals 12.
Three Stars of the Game:
Sam English – Toronto Rock: 3 goals and 2 assists
Tre LeClaire – San Diego Seals: 3 goals and 4 assists
Challen Rogers – Toronto Rock: 3 goals and 2 assists
GAME STATS:
San Diego Seals—SOG 56; Combined Saves 32; Combined Sv% .696; FO 16-30; PP 1-3; PIM 8; LB 73; TO 36
Toronto Rock—SOG 46; Saves 44; Sv% .786; FO 14-30; PP 1-4; PIM 9; LB 66; TO 31
NEXT UP:
The Toronto Rock No. 6 (2-0) heads to Pechanga Arena on Sunday May 3, 2026, for Game 2 of the 2025-26 Semi-Finals Series and will face off against the No. 7 San Diego Seals (1-1). The game will be televised on ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN, TSN+ and NLL+.
If the Rock win, they’ll head to the NLL Finals which will start May 14, 2026. If the Seals win, they will force a Game 3 which will be played at TD Coliseum on Friday May 9, 2026, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. The game, if necessary, will be televised on TSN+, ESPN+ and NLL+.
Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©