With three games left in the National Lacrosse League’s regular season, the San Diego Seals are well positioned to make a run at the first league title in club history.
The Seals (11-4) enter Friday’s home match against Panther City at Pechanga Arena having won three straight games and five of their last six.
A victory over Panther City (7-7) would clinch a first-round home playoff match for the second-place Seals.
Should the current NLL standings situation hold through the end of the regular season, the Seals would host Panther City in a single-elimination playoff game.
When the teams met on March 1 in Fort Worth, the Seals won 10-9 on an Austin Staats overtime goal.
San Diego clinched a playoff spot with a dramatic 10-9 overtime home win over Las Vegas on March 23 and are coming off a bye week.
Sockers open playoff run
The San Diego Sockers open their MASL Western Conference playoff series on Saturday with a match at the Texas Outlaws in Mesquite.
The return match and the if-necessary “knockout game” will be played Monday night at Pechanga Arena.
The Sockers (18-6) went 3-0 against Texas (11-12-1) during the regular season, with two of those matches decided by a single goal.
The San Diego/Texas winner advances to face the Chihuahua/Tacoma winner in the Western Conference finals.
The Sockers are gunning for their 17th indoor soccer title and first since 2022. They’re playing a final season at Pechanga Arena before moving north to Oceanside’s Frontwave Arena next season.
Mojo return home
The San Diego Mojo (4-7) continue their inaugural Pro Federation Volleyball season with a home match against Columbus (5-7) on Sunday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
The Mojo are coming off a 3-1 home win over Omaha on Tuesday night, a match which featured Temi Thomas-AIiara ing a team-high 22 points.
The Mojo are seeking to win consecutive matches for the first time. Columbus is led by Asjia O’Neal, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft.
Gulls play 2 at home
The San Diego Gulls conclude a busy week with games Saturday and Sunday evenings against Arizona at Pechanga Arena.
The Gulls (24-31-8, 56 points) pulled out a 6-5 shootout victory over San Jose Wednesday night. Bakersfield’s victory over Tucson that night eliminated the Gulls from playoff contention for the second straight season.
Playing with Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek looking on, rookie forward Sam Colangelo made his professional debut and ed a goal and an assist against San Jose.
Colangelo, a 2020 second-round pick by the Ducks, figures to see extensive ice time in the season’s final nine games.
Elsewhere
The San Diego Legion are off this weekend; the pro rugby team next plays April 14 against NOLA Gold at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Legion (4-1) are coming off a 22-21 win at Miami.
• The San Diego Strike Force (2-0) of the Indoor Football League are off this weekend after earning a 69-61 home victory over San Antonio on Monday. The team’s next game is April 14 at the Arizona Rattlers.
• Top Rank Boxing announced that San Diego’s Giovanni Santillan will put his 32-0 record on the line May 18 with a 12-round welterweight bout against Brian Norman Jr. (25-0,19 KOs). The fight will take place at Pechanga Arena and air live on ESPN. Santillan’s fight is a co-main event along a WBO lightweight title bout between three-division world champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) and Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs).
San Diego native Jonny Mansour will also make his professional debut in a four-round lightweight bout on the undercard against a yet-to-be named opponent.
The 23-year old Mansour won a National Gold Gloves title in 2023 and captured a silver medal at the 2022 National Championships.
Tickets for the card go on sale Friday morning at AXS.com.
