In Denver, Colorado, on September 1, 2007, Dane Dobbie was selected fourth overall in the NLL entry draft by the Calgary Roughnecks. In Orangeville, Chris Origlieri was just aging out of his first summer of introductory lacrosse. Saturday night, as teammates in San Diego, they helped the Seals advance past Panther City Lacrosse Club 9-8 to their third semi-final in four playoff seasons.
In their first ever playoff game, Panther City stuck with the second-seeded Seals, leading three times. Leads were hard to come by with neither team leading by more than one goal. The score was tied eight different times, including in overtime when Dobbie had a chance to bury a quick-stick pass at the side of the net. PCLC netminder Nick Damude bit on an initial shot and was down and out. But Dobbie shot it over the crossbar, doubling over in disbelief.
The Seals would reset the shot clock, giving the 16-year veteran a second chance. As he’s done so many times in the past, Dobbie took a hard step with his left foot, shot sidearm past his defender, and the bounce shot beat Damude to send Pechanga Arena into a frenzy and the Seals to the second round.
Head coach Patrick Merrill said, “[Dobbie] is the type of plays that’s built for April and May. He’s been doing this his entire career.”
After playoff goal number 80, the 37-year-old veteran said, “I missed one earlier, so it was nice to finish it.” He finished with four points (3 goals, 1 assist) and his seventeenth career playoff hat trick.
Merrill added, “He’ll eventually be a hall of famer, but he’s a winner.”
Both Merrill and Dobbie pointed to both goaltenders – Damude and Origlieri – who shone. “Nick and Chris stood on their heads,” said Dobbie. Former Seals goaltender, Nick Damude, made 54 saves in the losing effort. Meanwhile, in his first career playoff start, Origlieri made 37 saves. “He’s a warrior, he battles, he’s mentally strong,” praised Dobbie. He called the 21 year old the Seals’ backbone, adding, “We just feed off him.”
The best offensive performance of the night may have come from Austin Staats. His first goal came in the second quarter. Starting behind the net, the 26-year-old veteran beat his defender and began circling the crease. As he stopped, he was hit, dislodging his helmet, but in the same move leapt across the crease for the highlight-reel goal which made the score 4-3. Staats eventually scored four times – his third career playoff hat trick, and second playoff game with more than three goals.
Ryan Sheridan was the only multi-goal scorer for Panther City. Callum Crawford led the way with four points (1+3) while Mathieu Gauthier, and Tony and Will Malcom each had three (1+2).
While San Diego has now made the playoffs each year it’s been in the league (when a post season was played – 2020-2021 were cancelled), the Seals have yet to make an NLL final. Despite being the top seed in the West the past two seasons, they were eliminated both years by the Colorado Mammoth.
With the Mammoth eliminated, is this the year the Seals break through?
They’ll need both their veterans and young guns if the answer is yes. As Merrill said, “We were one shot better than them tonight.”
