San Diego seals, National Lacross League cancel remainder of regular season

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The National Lacrosse League and its local team, the San Diego Seals, announced today the remainder of the regular season will be canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

League officials said they were looking at scenarios to return to play when all stakeholders and health officials deem it possible. There was no timeline given on when decisions will be made. The league suspended regular season play on March 12 due to COVID-19.

"With three weekends left in the regular season and the uncertainty about resumption during that time, we decided it is in the best interests of our players, coaches, staff, partners and fans to remove any uncertainty. Our goal is to find the best, and safest, solution for resumption of play, but what that looks like, and when that occurs, cannot be determined today,'' said League Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz.

"Our primary focus is the long-term health of all involved in the sport of lacrosse from a personal and a business standpoint, and we are consulting with our board, medical and municipal authorities, as well as leadership in other organizations across sports and entertainment, to determine when we will be able to effectively move forward. Whenever that is, we have plans in place that continue to evolve, and we will be ready to restart the process correctly and effectively.''

The Seals, who play in Pechanga Arena, have a 6-6 record and are third in the league's West Division behind Saskatchewan and Colorado. The Seals will miss out on six games from the March 12 suspension of play. Forward Zack Greer led the Seals among all scorers with 21 goals.

"We continue to be in regular contact with the NLL and support their recent decision to halt the regular season, while continuing to figure out what a next step looks like,'' said Peter Schmitz, Professional Lacross Players Association president.

"Our primary focus remains the health and safety of our members and their input will be the deciding factor. We recognize the challenges that are presented with the unpredictability of the circumstances in which we find ourselves and will consider all options as presented by Nick and the NLL Leadership. We remain positive and optimistic for a return to the floor in the appropriate timeframe."

Those options will be outlined in more detail as the situation becomes clearer across North America in the coming weeks, according to the league.