Dane Dobbie scored five goals and Jeremy Noble made six assists in the San Diego Seals’ 15-12 victory over the expansion team Panther City Lacrosse Club for their first home win of the 2021-22 NLL season.
The Seals (3-1, T-1st West) were without forward Casey Jackson and goaltender Frank Scigliano due to COVID-19 protocols, and faced uncertainty as other players may have been exposed to the virus as well.
Panther City (0-4, 6th West) entered their fourth game still looking for the organization’s first ever win. While they did not have a win, they have played closely-contested games with two one-goal finals.
The first quarter was filled with action, and 11 goals were scored between the two teams. The Seals came out on top, leading 6-5 after the first 15 minutes. Forward Wesley Berg scored the first two goals followed by Dane Dobbie’s hat trick inside two minutes to put San Diego up 5-4 from a 2-4 deficit at the time. Mac O’Keefe capped off the first quarter scoring for the Seals. Rookie goaltender Chris Origlieri, making his NLL debut, struggled early as he stopped five of 10 shots in the opening quarter.
Panther City tied the game up in the second quarter, but the Seals responded with scoring three straight goals to take a 10-7 lead. O’Keefe scored his second goal of the night, forward Austin Staats scored his first two goals at Pechanga Arena in 22 months, and Dane Dobbie added his fourth goal of the night. Origlieni improved his game, saving six of nine shots from Panther City. The Seals led 10-8 going into halftime.
Staats opened the scoring in the second half, getting the power play goal for his first hat trick of the season. Mac O’Keefe followed with the hat trick of his own and gave San Diego a 12-8 lead, their largest of the night. Panther City’s Phil Caputo took one back to finish the third quarter scoring.
Caputo opened the fourth quarter with a goal, and another goal later, the Lacrosse Club were within one of tying the ballgame in the final quarter. Dobbie scored his fifth goal, but another Panther City goal and the game was still within a goal. However, Wesley Berg’s third goal of the night and Cam Holding’s empty net goal put the game out of reach for the Texas expansion club.
San Diego’s four hat tricks set a franchise-high Saturday night as Dobbie led the charge with five goals. Staats put up his seventh career hat trick since making his debut with the Seals in 2018. Berg recorded the 16th hat trick of his career, and O’Keefe made his first career hat trick in front of the home fans.
Chris Origlieni, a 19-year-old making his first start in place of Scigliano, struggled early, but settled in nicely after the opening quarter. He made 18 saves on 22 shots in the final 30 minutes, earning his first career NLL win. The goaltender became the first player to be born in 2002.
With their third win of the season, the Seals move into a tie for first place in the NLL’s Western Division with a (3-1) record with the Colorado Mammoth. The Mammoth’s only loss came when the Seals traveled to Ball Arena in a 13-4 rout of Colorado.
The Seals will take a trip north of the border Friday, Jan. 14 to make up their Week 3 matchup with the Saskatchewan Rush (1-3, 5th West). Each of the first three games the Rush played were decided by one goal with their most recent game a 10-5 loss in an inter-league matchup with the Albany Firewolves. Their game will begin at 5:30 p.m. from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Canada.