Salisbury hurdles Stevenson for top seed in South region
Ranked No. 2 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, Salisbury got the top seed in the South region of the NCAA Division III tournament Sunday night.
The Sea Gulls (18-1) appeared to be battling with top-ranked Stevenson (17-1) for the No. 1 seed, but it appeared that the selection committee rewarded Salisbury for a strength of schedule that included contests against the Mustangs (a 16-10 win on April 3 and a 10-6 loss on April 24), North region No. 1 seed and reigning national champion Cortland (a 12-11 win on March 10), No. 3 seed Gettysburg (an 11-10 overtime win on March 27), unseeded Widener (a 9-7 win on Feb. 27), unseeded Ohio Wesleyan (a 16-5 win on March 13) and Lynchburg (a 14-9 win on Feb. 20), the 10th-ranked team in the USILA poll that was not invited to the NCAA Tournament.
"I don’t know if there was any validation," Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman said of getting the No. 1 seed in the South region. "I just think that we did have a pretty good body of work – not that it was that much better than anybody else’s. It was probably by the thread of a hair because everything was so close between us and Stevenson. But probably going to the outer region win [against Cortland] was the difference."
Because of the top seed, Salisbury will get a first-round bye and await the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between Widener (10-9) and Springfield (12-5).
Not that Berkman and his coaching staff will be sitting on their hands to wait for the result. They plan on traveling to Springfield, Mass., to scout both teams.
"Film is great, but there’s nothing like being there in person to get a sense of their speed and their continuity," Berkman said. "Plus, when you’re watching film, you’re not seeing the whole field. So sometimes you’re missing what guys are doing away from the ball or on the other end of the field on rides. For us, we always like to see them in person."
