No. 2 Salisbury Rolls By Springfield In NCAA Tourney

SALISBURY, Md. – The NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships are well underway, and the No. 2-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team hasn't missed a beat. On a cool Saturday evening at Sea Gull Stadium before a crowd of 661 fans, the maroon and gold rolled past Springfield College, 17-4, in an NCAA second-round game. With the win Salisbury moves on to the quarterfinals, which will be played on Wednesday, May 19.

The Sea Gulls (19-1) scored the game's three opening goals to take a commanding lead over the Pride (13-6), and that lead would only grow as the seconds ticked off of the clock. Salisbury's stellar defense, anchored in the goal by Johnny Rodriguez (Gambrills, Md.), allowed only two goals to be scored in the first half. Four of Salisbury's nine first-half goals came from senior attackman Mike Winter (Port Washington, N.Y.), who opened up scoring for the Gulls in the first quarter and closed out the half with just 46 seconds left to give Salisbury the lopsided advantage going into the third quarter.

But Winter's storm of goals wasn't finished yet. He ripped a shot just 32 seconds into the third quarter off of a Matt Cannone (Bayport, N.Y.) assist to give Salisbury a 10-2 edge. The maroon and gold would tack on three more goals in that quarter, not allowing the Pride a single goal, to lead 13-2 going into the final quarter. The Sea Gulls finished off the game strong, chipping in four more goals to seal the deal. Eight different Salisbury players netted goals in the victory. Rodriguez finished with eight saves.

"When you're on your home field, in the playoffs, that's one of the advantages. Hopefully you come out and get out of the gate quickly. That's always been one of our attributes as a team," Head Coach Jim Berkman said regarding the team's quick opening scoring in tonight's victory.

Salisbury's quarterfinal opponent will be No. 11 Haverford College, which defeated Dickinson College, 13-5, in its second-round game on Saturday. Because of their higher seed, the maroon and gold will be hosting the contest at Sea Gull Stadium. The time of the game is to be determined; check back on www.suseagulls.com for details.