Austin Staats recorded three goals and a career-best six assists as the San Diego Seals rallied back from a four-goal deficit to win 13-10 over the visiting Calgary Roughnecks.
His nine points tied a career-best and helped him record his third straight hat trick. Staats has scored 11 goals in his first four games since returning from his most recent injury and he has played the best he has in his National Lacrosse League (NLL) career this season.
Jeremy Noble scored his sixth goal of the season and made six assists for a seven-point performance, and Wesley Berg scored twice and assisted three goals to contribute in the offensive effort.
The game started off cold and looked sloppy on the defensive end. The Roughnecks scored six goals in the first quarter and forced the Seals to make a goalie change from starting goalie Frank Scigliano with under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Backup goalie Christopher Origlieri finished the first half, playing 16-½ minutes and allowing just three goals with nine saves.
Scigliano re-entered the game in the second half, and despite giving up his seventh goal of the night in the first two minutes, turned in an outstanding effort. The 30-year-old goalie saved Calgary’s final six shots on goal, shutting out his former team of seven years for the final 28 minutes of the game.
Staats recorded two game-tying goals in the second and fourth quarters, and assisted the only go-ahead goal the Seals would need.
San Diego was down by four goals at 5-1 and 6-2 in the first quarter. They came back to tie but never managed to take the lead in the second quarter, and were down 9-8 at halftime.
The two clubs exchanged goals in the third quarter that kept it a one-score game for a big 4-0 fourth quarter that saw the Seals run away with the lead at the end.
San Diego’s fifth win of the season kept them in first place of the West Division with second-place Colorado Mammoth’s 9-4 win to move to (4-1) on the year. The Seals tie with the east’s Philadelphia Wings’ five wins for the most in the NLL.
The Seals get another week off before their Saturday, Feb. 12 road meeting with Panther City Lacrosse Club in Fort Worth, Tex.