DENVER – Playoff lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League began this past weekend with four single-elimination games across the country.
With the results this weekend, at least one former Pioneer will help his team lift the NLL Cup this postseason.
Brendan Bomberry and
Casey Wilson opened the weekend by combinging for four assists and seven loose balls in the Halifax Thunderbirds 10-7 upset over top-seeded Vancouver.
Richie Connell had three of his five points in the fourth quarter to key Georgia's win over defending champions Buffalo by a count of 17-10.
The chaos continued on Saturday night when sixth-seeded Toronto knocked off third-seeded Saskatchewan.
Mark Matthews had a goal and four assists against his former team, while
Josh Dawick turned in a six-point night in the quarterfinal round on a hat trick and a trio of helpers.
NLL Quarterfinal Game of the Week was right down the street at Ball Arena as seventh-seeded San Diego knocked off second-seeded Colorado in overtime.
Wes Berg had six of his seven points after halftime, netting a second half hat trick to go with four assists. San Diego was once trailing 10-6 before Berg had the primary assist and then a goal at the end of the third to make it 11-9 heading into the final frame. Berg also had a primary assist to tie things up at 11-11, and then scored his third of the night with 4:40 to go in regulation to give the Seals their first lead since early in the second quarter. Berg then assisted the overtime game-winner to send San Diego to the semifinals.
Trevor Baptiste was dominant once more, going 26-for-29 from the circle with 17 loose balls and a caused turnover in the victory.
LAST WEEK
Friday, April 24
Halifax (Bomberry, Wilson) 10 vs. Vancouver 7
Bomberry: 2A, 3LB
Wilson: 2A, 4LB
Saturday, April 25
Buffalo 10 vs. Georgia (Connell) 17
Connell: 3G-2A-5P
Toronto (Dawick, Matthews) 16 vs. Saskatchewan 13
Dawick: 3G-3A-6P
Matthews: 1G-4A-5P
San Diego (Baptsite, Berg, Logan) 13 vs. Colorado (Hannah) 12
Baptiste: 26-29, 17 LB, 1A, 1CT
Berg: 3G-4A-7P, 4LB
Hannah: 1G-3A-4P, 3LB
2026 NLL Playoff Semifina Schedule
Friday, May 1
San Diego (Berg, Baptiste, Logan) vs. Toronto (Dawick, Matthews) – 5:30 p.m. MT – Game 1 of 3
Saturday, May 2
Halifax (Bomberry, Wilson) v. Georgia (Connell) – 5:30 p.m. MT – Game 1 of 3
Sunday, May 3
Toronto (Dawick, Matthews) vs. San Diego (Berg, Baptiste, Logan) – 4 p.m. MT – Game 2 of 3
Saturday, May 9
Georgia (Connell) vs. Halifax (Bomberry, Wilson) – 4 p.m. MT – Game 2 of 3
San Diego (Berg, Baptiste, Logan) vs. Toronto (Dawick, Matthews) – 5 p.m. MT – Game 3 of 3
Sunday, May 10
Halifax (Bomberry, Wilson) v. Georgia (Connell) – 4 p.m. MT – Game 1 of 3
UP NEXT: Fourth-seeded Denver takes on top-seeded Georgetown in the BIG EAST Semifinal on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. MT in Providence. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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