Tre Leclaire's Game-Winning Goal 59 Seconds into Overtime Sends the Seals into the National Lacrosse League Semifinals
NLL San Diego Seals

Tre Leclaire's Game-Winning Goal 59 Seconds into Overtime Sends the Seals into the National Lacrosse League Semifinals

Published on April 25, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
San Diego Seals News Release


The Seals achieved their goal of earning a spot in the National Lacrosse League's eight-team playoff field and now that they've done so, they'll look to make a deep run. That run starts this Saturday (April 25) with a single-game elimination quarterfinal playoff showdown against the Colorado Mammoth inside Denver's Ball Arena. Faceoff is 6 p.m. PT.

The game will be broadcast on national cable TV on ESPNU and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.

The Seals have now made the playoffs in all six of their full NLL seasons under Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Merrill.

Now that the Seals are in the postseason tournament, they'll hope that the third time is the charm as twice it's been Colorado that's eliminated the Seals from the playoffs. In 2022, the Mammoth defeated the Seals two games to one in the Western Conference Finals and in 2023, they beat the Seals in a single-game elimination first round matchup, but the past is the past and it's all about Saturday's showdown inside Ball Arena and the Seals are coming in hot.

The Seals won two of their last three games to earn their spot in the playoffs and they did it by filling the net at a high volume. They scored 39 total goals in those three games, including a season-high tying 16 in the regular season finale on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Colorado meanwhile comes into Saturday night's game off a 9-8 loss to Calgary that cost them the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Despite the loss, the Mammoth enters the postseason having won three of its last four.

To be successful on Saturday night, the Seals will lean on their defense to slow the NLL's second-highest scoring offense during the regular season. The Mammoth scored 206 goals, tied with Saskatchewan for second, and were led by forwards Andrew Kew and Will Malcom. Kew's 45 goals tied for second in the League this year, while Malcom added 36. The duo combined for five goals when the teams met in Denver during the regular season. Still, prior to allowing 30 goals in the last two games against Vegas, the Seals had been one of the stingiest teams in the League throughout the regular season

And while the Mammoth have two high-powered scorers, the Seals field a more balanced offense that features 20 different players who scored goals this season, led by forwards Tre Leclaire (31), Ben McIntosh (28) and Wes Berg (26) and Connor Robinson (22).

In the middle of the field, the Seals have two of the League's top transition players in Zach Currier and faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste. Currier enters the playoffs on an absolute tear after scoring six goals in the Seals' last two games, including a career-high five in the Seals' second-to-last game against Las Vegas, and he finished the regular season tied with Robinson for fifth on the squad in goals scored (22). Currier always ranks among the League leaders in loose balls secured and this season was no exception as his 200 were second to Halifax's Jake Withers, who paced the NLL with 223. And on the defensive end, Currier's 23 caused turnovers led the Seals and tied for ninth in the League, while defenseman Danny Logan finished right behind Currier with 22.

Baptiste meanwhile continued his dominance in the faceoff circle, leading the League in both faceoff wins (327) and faceoff win percentage (75%), four percentage points clear of Withers, who was second at 71%.

Seals-Mammoth Head-to-Head

The Seals are 11-4 all-time against the Mammoth in the regular season and just 1-3 in the playoffs, but that lone win came inside Ball Arena. In regular season play, the Seals are 6-4 against the Mammoth at Ball Arena and 5-0 inside Pechanga Arena.

Roster Breakdown

The Seals' current 21-man regular season roster sees the team carrying nine forwards, seven defenders, four transition men and two goalies. The breakdown is below:

Forwards: Wes Berg, Ben McIntosh, Tre Leclaire, Chris Kavanagh, Pat Kavanagh, Dylan Watson, Connor Robinson, Corey Small, and Noah Armitage.

Defensemen: Danny Logan, Graydon Bradley, Eli Gobrecht, Patrick Shoemay, James Barclay, Zack Deaken, Marquez White and Matt Wright.

Transition: Zach Currier, Trent DiCicco, Cam Acchione, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and rookie Ari Steenhuis.

Goaltenders: Chris Origlieri and Cam Dunkerley

Pat Kavanagh, Corey Small and Dylan Watson are currently on Injured-Reserve. Kellen LeClair is on the League's holdout list while he completes his probationary period as a firefighter. Jake Govett and Tyden Redlick are on the practice squad.

It was none other than the seals leading scorer, Tre Leclaire, who sent the San DIego Seals into the semifinals of the National Lacrosse League playoffs with an improbable game-winning goal 59 seconds into overtime Saturday night that propelled the Seals to a road upset win over the Colorado Mammoth.

And it was Seals Team Captain Wes Berg's pass on the doorstep that set up Leclaire's goal and sent the Seals onto the semifinals where they'll face Toronto in a best-of-three semifinal series with Game 2 set for next Sunday afternoon at Pechanga Arena.

I know it's a SUPER busy sports day in America's Finest City but just wanted to send out a quick reminder about tonight's Seals-Mammoth single-elimination quarterfinal playoff game at Ball Arena in Denver if you're able to track and get highlights and the final score in your sports shows and stories.

Faceoff is 6 p.m. PT and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN+.

Check out the San Diego Seals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



National Lacrosse League Stories from April 25, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central