Lindsay Plunkett and Dan Dawson scored three goals each as the Arizona Sting upset the Portland LumberJax, 14-11, in a first-round playoff game Saturday night at the Rose Garden.

As a result, Portland's dream season -- the six-game winning streak to end the season, the Western Division regular season title, and the rapt attention of its home city -- came to an end earlier than most expected.

It also keeps Arizona on track to repeat its impressive feat of a year ago, winning two road games to reach the NLL Championship Game; the Sting visits Colorado next weekend for the right to play for the Champion's Cup.

Peter Veltman, a member of last year's finalist, opened the scoring just over a minute into the game, and the 1-0 score held up for a few minutes, until Portland's Mike Hominuck touched off an offensive flurry at 4:15.

The Hominuck goal was the first of six over the next two and a half minutes, with Portland ahead 4-3 when the dust cleared.

Matt Brown and Dan Dawson scored late in the period, sandwiching a goal by Peter Morgan, and the teams finished the quarter locked in a 5-5 tie.

Dawson scored again early in the second quarter, followed around mid-period by Plunkett and Craig Conn for an 8-5 Sting lead. Richard Morgan quickly got a goal back for the LumberJax, but Conn struck again with about five and a half minutes to play before halftime.

Alternating goals with Arizona throughout the third period, Portland was able to move to within two goals, 11-9, when Hominuck scored at 13:42 and the Sting couldn't reply by the end of the quarter.

But the Sting did reply in the fourth, an unassisted goal by Bruce Murray which put the LumberJax right back where they stood at intermission -- down by three.

They stayed there for almost ten minutes, nearly an eternity in this sport, until Ryan Marshall scored with 3:16 left. Hominuck, netting his fourth goal of the game, scored just over a minute later and Portland was within one, at 12-11.

Moments later, Plunkett scored, and Portland gambled on a stick check to erase the goal.

Plunkett's stick was legal, and the only thing erased was LumberJax defenseman Pat Jones, sent off for two minutes as Portland's penalty for losing the challenge.

Murray knocked home an empty-net goal with 34 seconds left to seal the victory.

Dawson (three goals, five assists) and Plunkett (three goals, four assists) were the top scorers, with Rob Blasdell (52 shots, 41 saves) turning in a fine performance in goal.

Hominuck led the LumberJax in scoring on four goals and an assist, with Dallas Eliuk (44 shots, 31 saves) suffering the loss, the fourth in his last six playoff games, dating to 1999.