A rare early exit for Salisbury
The No. 2 Sea Gulls’ 11-9 loss to top-ranked Stevenson Wednesday in the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals wasn’t what you would label as a typical upset.
After all, Salisbury had dropped a 12-8 decision to the Mustangs on April 4, and this current Sea Gulls squad (16-4) had incurred more losses since 2002, when that team went 13-5. And after Salisbury had beaten Stevenson to capture the Capital Athletic Conference tournament title and the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament, Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman acknowledged his the team had been in danger of being shut out of the NCAA tournament.
Still, Salisbury’s abbreviated stay in the NCAA tournament is a little surprising. It is the first time the program has not played in a tournament semifinal since 2002. And consider this: the Sea Gulls have played in 14 semifinals since Berkman became the head coach prior to the 1989 season. In those same 21 years, Salisbury has made 10 championship final appearances and won eight of those games.
The Sea Gulls’ loss also ended the career of Kylor Berkman. The reigning National Player of the Year and two-time Midfielder of the Year, Berkman finished his career ranked second on the school’s all-time list in career points (298) and assists (170) behind Jason Coffman (451, 202).
Comments
GO STEVENSON!!!!!!!
Posted by: Sean | May 14, 2009 2:00 PM
A pretty amazing outcome. SU has been dominant at D3, now they have been swept up in the expansion of lacrosse talent. This is what has been happening at the D1 level for about 3 seasons now. Expect more teams to start making some moves. Good news for the game. Do those SU fans still think that Salisbury can beat any top 20 D1 teams?
Posted by: Alex W | May 14, 2009 3:10 PM
HOW MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS DO STEVENSON? oh yeah NONE
Posted by: chad | May 14, 2009 5:15 PM
Salisbury lost twice to Stevenson!! Why the woe is me article about a Salisbury loss? Why isn't the article about the Stevenson victory and their players? Is it too much trouble to drive up to Owings Mills and talk the Stevenson players and coaches? It's no wonder the Sun is doomed...Go Mustangs.
Posted by: Forman Stevenson | May 14, 2009 9:05 PM
Go Mustangs!!! If you don't have anything to do on Sunday, head on up to Owings Mills to support your local D3 team!!!
Posted by: Lacy | May 15, 2009 10:47 AM
Great win for Stevenson. They deserved to win and outplayed the Gulls all game. More shots, more groundballs. But I just wish after being there that the Stevenson fans were a little more knowledgeable about the game and a little less about "riding the bandwagon." It was only the quarterfinals and no, you dont get to go to Boston just yet.
Posted by: John | May 15, 2009 1:11 PM
Who made up the tournament pairings so that No. 1 is playing No. 2 in the quarterfinals? Were 7 and 8 playing each other, too?
1 shouldn't play 2 until the final.
Posted by: bob | May 15, 2009 4:06 PM
Hey Gulls, better loosen those academic standards so you can get more talent.
Posted by: franzw | May 18, 2009 2:56 PM
All NY champs this year in lacrosse, ugh! Please somebody besides Cortland St. in the DIII finals next year, geez! Looking forward to Salisbury vs Stevenson next season, should be interesting to see if the 'Gulls' can bounce back against the Mustangs and get to M&T Bank Stadium next May.
Posted by: Safety 6 | May 27, 2009 3:14 PM