The San Diego Seals (8-6) and Rochester Knighthawks (8-7), two of the teams vying for the National Lacrosse League’s coveted eight playoff spots and separated by just a half-game in the League standings, will meet at the Blue Cross Arena (12,428) in Rochester, New York this Saturday night (March 29) in a key late-season contest for both sides. It’s the second of four straight games on the road for the Seals and their first-ever game in Rochester. Faceoff is set for 4 p.m. PT.
Saturday night’s game will be broadcast in San Diego on KUSI-TV and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.
Both teams come into the game red hot having won five of their last six. The only difference is the Seals have won their last three while the Knighthawks won their last four. The Seals outscored their last three opponents 49-34 while the Knighthawks outscored their last four 68-38. Coincidentally both teams also started their seasons 3-5 but have since rebounded and put themselves in playoff contention. At 8-6, the Seals sit in fourth place heading into this weekend’s matchup, while Rochester’s in sixth at 8-7.
During this most recent six-game stretch in which the Seals are 5-1, they’re averaging a healthy 14.3 goals per game. In the five games prior in which they went just 1-4, the team averaged just 8.2 goals in those five contests.
The Seals are doing it behind the hot shooting of forward, team captain and NLL goal-scoring leader (tied) Wes Berg, who has 40 goals on the season and 11 in the Seals’ last two games. Berg has a tremendous supporting cast that includes fellow forwards Rob Hellyer (27 goals and 51 assists), Ben McIntosh (19G and 34A) and Ryan Benesch (20G and 30A) along with transition man Zach Currier whose 147 loose balls secured are second-most in the League. And the Seals, who’ve been beset by injuries this season, will further benefit from the return of faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste who just last week returned from a 12-game absence and won 19 of 32 faceoffs in a 16-12 win in Calgary.
Look for another high-scoring affair on Saturday night as Rochester leads the NLL with 192 goals this season. The Knighthawks’ roster features two of the League’s top goal-scorers in forwards Connor Fields and Ryan Smith, who are tied for fourth in the League with 38 goals apiece. Fields’ 67 assists put him atop the NLL point standings with 105, while fellow forward Ryan Lanchbury is second in the League with 73 assists. Fields was actually drafted by the Seals during the team’s first-ever amateur draft in 2018 before later being traded.
Seals-Knighthawks Head-to-Head: All-time, the Seals and Knighthawks have met three times and the Seals hold a 3-0 series edge with all three contests being played in San Diego. The Seals outscored the Knighthawks 48-30 in said games while posting wins of 12-10 (2019), 19-6 (2020) and 17-14 (2023). The 2019 matchup at Pechanga Arena took place on Jan. 12, 2019 and it was the first-ever home game for the Seals as the 2018-19 season marked the team’s first in the NLL.
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