Seals Fall Flat At Pechanga Arena, Suffer 14-6 Loss To Vancouver

Streaks ended Friday night. The San Diego Seals suffered a blowout loss to the visiting Vancouver Warriors at Pechanga Arena San Diego, putting an end to their three-game win streak and adding a loss to what was a 2-0 home record.

First-quarter goals from Cameron Holding, Dan Dawson and Jules Heninburg had the Seals on top, 3-2, after the first 15 minutes of play, but the final three quarters came up all Vancouver. Led by forward Keegan Bal, the Warriors dominated on the offensive end, outscoring the Seals 12-3 in the final three quarters.

Pechanga Arena brought out the best in Bal. A third-round pick in the 2013 NLL Draft, Bal found the back of the net six times and logged four assists in Friday’s affair. He had just seven goals on the year prior to the contest.

Mitch Jones, the Warriors’ current leader in goals with 16, added two goals himself, as did forwards Tony Malcom and Jordan McBride.

On the opposite end, San Diego struggled to get shots on net and failed to hit home as often as they needed to on the few opportunities they had on the night. Dawson led the Seals in goals with two, and three-year veteran forward Turner Evans secured the team lead in assists (four).

Seals’ Austin Staats entered the contest having scored multiple goals in each of the team’s previous four games, but the rookie phenom couldn’t catch fire on Friday. He recorded just one goal from seven shots and turned the ball over a team-high six times.

Dawson spoke to the offensive struggles after the game.

“That was ugly in every aspect of the game,” said Dawson. “We allowed them to control every facet of tonight’s game, and we’re at home. We have an unbelievable opportunity to see where we’re at as a team when we head to Toronto. It’s all about how we respond. It’s another opportunity to give our best effort.”

San Diego’s opportunity to respond against the Toronto Rock is scheduled for Friday, February 15 at 4:30 p.m. PT.