After all the build up over the previous offseason and even a nine-day long labor dispute, San Diego’s newest professional sports franchise has officially surfaced!

The San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) made their official debut at the newly renamed Pechanga Arena San Diego (the Sports Arena) before an electric crowd of over 5,000 fans who were eager to see the new sport and team host a free open practice and inter-squad scrimmage game.

The team’s first overall pick in the entry draft, Austin Staats was blown away by the fan support.

“It was amazing playing in front of the fans in San Diego, to have that many people come out just to watch us practice and scrimmage - the games are going to be crazy and the fans are going to love it.”

It was the Gray team who emerged victoriously in the inter-squad scrimmage game, defeating the Purple team 7-4. The aforementioned Staats potted two goals as did Dan Dawson and Goaltender Frank Scigliano held the Purple team scoreless in the first quarter. Johnny Pearson finally broke through for the Purple squad, but Adrian Sorichetti’s around the world style goal brought the fans out of their seats and was definitely a highlight of the game.

Seals Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Merill shared his thoughts on the team’s effort and how they performed in front of the San Diego faithful for the first time.

“We’re really proud of this whole crew, we started off a little slow, but the boys really picked up the pace and showed off for the fans here in San Diego.”

The Seals will open their 2018-19 inaugural season on Saturday, December 22 against the Colorado Mammoth at 6pm PST in Denver.

San Diego will host their inaugural home game on Saturday, January12, 2019, against the Rochester Knighthawks at Pechanga Arena San Diego with a 7pm start time.