Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
The San Diego Seals came away with a 15-12 win over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the first-ever outdoor NLL game on Saturday afternoon at Snapdragon Stadium.
San Diego’s high-power offense came out in full force as Curtis Dickson finished with three goals and nine points. Dane Dobbie and Casey Jackson each had four points, while Wes Berg finished with a pair of goals and six points.
Goaltending remains a major questions mark as Chris Origlieri was pulled in the first quarter after allowing four goals off of six shots. Frank Scigliano came on in relief to pick up the win, stopping 30 of 38 shots.
Credit to Las Vegas, they held their own against the first-place Seals. They only trailed San Diego by one heading into the final quarter before the Seals pulled away. Charlie Bertrand broke out for the Desert Dogs with a hat trick and one assist. Jacob Ruest hit a milestone with 400 loose balls.
Close first quarter
It was Las Vegas that got off to a quick start as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Jon Phillips scored 1:43 for the first-ever goal in an outdoor NLL game. Reid Reinholdt would add to the tally unassisted at 10:25.
San Diego replied with a four-goal run. Mac O’Keefe opened the scoring for the Seals at 9:08 followed by Dickson 1:04 later to tie up the game.
The Seals took over the lead with a pair of power-play goals. First, it was Jackson with 5:43 on the clock. Dane Dobbie extended the lead to 4-2.
Charlie took over from there for the Desert Dogs. He scored at 3:57 and 1:05 later scored again to tie up the game 4-4 after the first quarter.
Where’s the overhead angle?
Las Vegas took over the lead only 27 seconds into the second quarter when Ruest found Connor Kirst. Kirst would find the back of the net to make it 5-4.
Tre Leclaire answered back three minutes later on transition off a pass from Brodie Merrill to knot it up 5-5.
Some controversy struck at the 11:01 mark. Bertrand’s shot beat Scigliano and bounced off both upright posts. The call of the field was a goal. The goal was challenged, however, because of the outdoor setting there was no overhead camera angle. The call on the field stood due to inconclusive evidence.
San Diego was able to regroup and gain momentum with a three-goal run to once again take back the lead. Dobbie scored on the power play at 9:10 to tie up the game. Leclaire added his second of the game at 8:43 and Dickson rounded out the run with 1:45 left in the quarter.
Jack Hannah scored on the power play 31 seconds later to make it 8-7 in favour of the Seals heading into halftime.
Desert Dogs stay within striking distance
Hannah struck again only 55 seconds into the second half and, once again, the game was all tied up. Austin Staats regained the lead for San Diego at 12:05 to make it 9-8.
Las Vegas leaned on their veterans to get them back in the game. It was Zack Greer who scored at 7:29 that would spark a two-goal run for the Desert Dogs. Marshal King got on the board at 3:48 to give Vegas a 10-9 advantage.
Dobbie answered right back with 1:59 left in the quarter and Berg scored with 37 seconds left to give San Diego an 11-10 advantage heading into the final frame.
San Diego pulls away in the fourth
Berg scored 57 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 12-10. Vegas would run into penalty troubles, which Jackson took full advantage of. He scored power play markers at 11:24 and 7:43 to cap off five straight goals for the Seals to make it 14-10.
Greer and Rob Hellyer tried to mount a comeback with goals at 5:19 and 3:56 respectively. However, Dickson scored with 2:45 to give San Diego the win in the first-ever outdoor NLL game 15-12.
Top Scorers
San Diego
Curtis Dickson, 3g 6a
Wes Berg, 2g 4a
Austin Staats, 1g 5a
Las Vegas
Zack Greer, 2g 3a
Jack Hannah, 2g 3a
Rob Hellyer, 1g 4a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9pm (ET)
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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