The San Diego Seals will enjoy home turf advantage throughout the National Lacrosse League playoffs.
Judging by the way they finished Friday night’s 14-10 victory over Panther City Lacrosse Club at a charged-up Pechanga Arena, it could be quite a postseason ride.
Trailing 10-9 with 4:57 to play, the Seals netted five answered goals to improve to 12-4 while also setting themselves up for that playoff home cooking.
“I think all of the little things we were doing well all game added up and paid off there at the end,” said Trevor Baptiste, who not only won 25-of-27 faceoffs but also scored his first two goals of the season. “We just stayed with it. In a game like that, guys could start gripping their sticks a little tight, feeling the pressure but we stayed composed and kept playing our game.”
The teams traded goals all night in a game that featured tons of action and plenty of physical play.
Eight different Seals scored, paced by Austin Staats’ four goals and Wesley Berg’s three (to go along with four assists). The Seals also cashed in 6 of 8 power-play chances.
Seals goalie Chris Origlieri finished with 33 saves.
Panther City, which saw seven different players score, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and. The Seals rallied to take a 6-4 lead late in the first half but neither team could create serious separation in a game that also included nine penalties.
Indicative of the type of game it was, Panther City’s Phil Caputo scored with 0.1 seconds on the clock at the end of the first half.
The Seals, who finished with a 55-43 edge in shots on goal, also had a pair of would-be scores wiped out by official review.
The key moment came with 2:29 to play when Berg ripped home a power play goal to give San Diego an 11-10 lead.
A minute later, Dane Dobbie broke free for a one-on-one break and beat goalie Nick Damude with a diving shot that slipped into the goal to make it 12-10.
Tre Leclaire and then Baptiste capped the avalanche of scoring, the home crowd erupted and the Seals were in the clear.
“We have a lot of guys who can score,” Staats said. “If we just keep coming at you, good things will happen. And hey, it’s always great to see your faceoff guy score. He does so much for us, winning us possession and helping us get our attack going. It was nice to see him get a couple.”
The Seals, who entered the night one game behind first-place Toronto in the 15-team NLL standings, close the regular season at Saskatchewan on April 13 and at home against Vancouver on April 19.
Should San Diego and Panther City finish in their current standings slots, they would meet again in that first-round playoff game on April 27.
Regardless of opponent, the road to an NLL title will go through San Diego.
“Getting a playoff game here, that’s huge,” Staats said. “Knowing the playoffs will start here at home, that’s a big thing for us. The energy here is excellent. It has been all season.”
