Dane Dobbie scored five goals, including a second-quarter hat trick, but the San Diego Seals could not overcome the Saskatchewan Rush, 16-11, in their first home defeat of the season.
Saskatchewan was coming off an embarrassing 13-6 road loss to the Calgary Roughnecks while the Seals defeated the Panther City Lacrosse Club in a closely-contested matchup before a bye week.
The first quarter was San Diego’s first scoreless period of the season, and they trailed 3-0 despite leading in shots on goal, 10-8.
“I thought we were getting good chances and I thought we were playing really well defensively,” head coach Patrick Merrill said. “Just stick with it and keep scrapping.”
Dane Dobbie put the Seals on the board in the second quarter, scoring four goals that included two power play goals, an even strength goal, and a shorthanded score. He added his fifth goal of the night on even strength in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight was another example of other guys weren’t feeling it and he stepped up and did what he does,” Merrill said.
Wesley Berg scored the fifth and final goal of the opening half, a shorthanded score that turned the tides of the game.
A power play goal from Austin Staats and another score from Mac O’Keefe cut the Seals’ four-goal deficit to two in under a minute in the third quarter. Curtis Dickson capped the third quarter scoring to pull back within two after a Rush goal.
San Diego made a late comeback bid with one-on-one opportunities taken by Eli Gobrecht and Dickson that put the Seals back within three with two minutes to go in regulation.
Saskatchewan had the final word with an empty-net score and another goal with under 10 seconds remaining that gave the Rush their largest lead of the night at 16-11.
The Seals went 4-for-5 on the power play and scored two shorthanded goals while killing one of three penalty kills.
The Rush pull within a game of the Seals and Calgary Roughnecks atop the NLL’s Western Division as the season comes close to the midway point. The Seals’ next game, Mar. 4 against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the league’s first outdoor game, will mark the halfway point of the San Diego schedule.