In my haste to mention Salisbury’s Kylor Berkman winning his third consecutive Midfielder of the Year award, I neglected to also single out Stevenson’s Steve Kazimer and Washington’s Gordon Cohen for being named the Division III Attackman and Goalie of the Year, respectively.

Kazimer, a junior for a top-ranked Mustangs squad that advanced to the NCAA tournament semifinals for the first time in school history, paced Stevenson with a team-high 69 points on 33 goals and 36 assists. In just two seasons, Kazimer has posted 152 points on 70 goals and 82 assists.

Cohen, a senior for the Shoremen, finished the season ranked sixth in the country in save percentage (.631) and 17th in goals-against average (7.20). Earlier, Cohen became the first Washington goalie in 11 years to be named to the All-American first team.

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Categories: Salisbury, Washington
        

The USILA released its All American teams in Division III and a number of area players populate the list.

Stevenson, which finished the regular season ranked No. 1 and advanced to the school's first NCAA tournament semifinal, put attackmen Steve Kazimer and Jimmy Dailey on the first team. They were joined by Salisbury midfielder Kylor Berkman and Washington goalkeeper Gordon Cohen.

The Mustangs placed two more players on the second team: midfielder Nicola Bevacqua and defenseman Mike Simon. Salisbury defenseman Kevin Maynard was the only area representative on the third team.

The honorable mention list included Stevenson attackman Richie Ford and midfielder Greg Furshman, Salisbury attackman Matt Cannone and midfielder Mike Von Kamecke, Washington midfielder Thayer Damm, McDaniel midfielder Michael Hatton and St. Mary's midfielder Marc DiPasquale.

Update on Wednesday, May 20: I mistakenly left off St. Mary's midfielder Ryan Alexander from the All-American honorable mention list. Thanks to Seahawks sports information director Nairem Moran for pointing out the omission. My apologies to Ryan.

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Categories: McDaniel, Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson, Washington
        

With a 15-3 record in the regular season, the No. 5 Sea Gulls will just have to sit and wait until the Division III bracket is released. Coach Jim Berkman thinks eight-time reigning national champion Salisbury will not get a seed higher than No. 4 in the South Region, which would mean a first-round bye and maybe one game at Sea Gull Stadium. But Berkman said his team should be prepared for life on the road.

"With the road that we have paved, we are going to have to win games on opponents’ fields," he said. "We might get one home playoff game. The journey to Stevenson, the journey to Washington College, we’re not going to get any harder avenues to play in. So that’s been good for this team, to experience that, so that when we go to the playoffs and they know it’s do or die and we’re going to play on someone else’s field, it’s not like it’s the first time."

With three losses, this Salisbury squad has accumulated more setbacks than the Sea Gulls had compiled since 2003. (That would be a total of two losses.) But if the sharks smell blood in the water, junior midfielder Mike Von Kamecke is not concerned.

"We’re defending our championship right now," he said. "Anyone can win it this year. It’s up for grabs, and that just makes it that much more interesting. Once you win that championship, you definitely want to go back and win it again."

Other notes:

Continue reading "Postscript from Salisbury at Washington" »

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It’s another installment in the annual "War on the Shore" series. The Sea Gulls have won 10 of the past 11 meetings, including the last eight. But Salisbury doesn’t look nearly as invulnerable as in previous seasons, and the Shoremen are eager to get their first victory in the series since May 4, 2002. Here are a few developments that could intrigue me as I watch from Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium in Chestertown.

Continue reading "Salisbury at Washington: Three things to watch" »

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Categories: Salisbury, Three things to watch, Washington
        

Winning has its privileges. Just ask Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman.

Freshman attackman Matt Cannone leads the country among Division III players in goals with 30, and Berkman admitted that the eight-time national championship school scored a coup with attracting Cannone, who transferred from Delaware.

"Once you build a program, there are some things that do come to you, and you get kind of lucky once in a while," Berkman said. "He was the lefty that we needed. We lost Matt Hickman, a first-team All American at that left-handed attack spot, and he has really filled the void with maybe even some skills that we didn’t have last year. He’s a dodger and he can score and he’s a shooter. He’s a good player."

With an 8-0 start, Salisbury has won 53 consecutive games and has not lost a regular-season contest since 2003, a span of 85 games that is not lost on the players and coaches.

"We talk about it now and again," Berkman said. "I don’t think it’s a major point of emphasis, but we do talk about it when we need to drop a little energy. It helps to get them in focus and not only make them realize what they’ve accomplished, but also what’s at stake so that we get the effort that’s needed so that they don’t let it get away."

Other Division III notes:

*The school formerly known as Villa Julie set a new program record for most consecutive wins to begin the season. Stevenson’s 19-3 victory over Wooster yesterday improved the team to 7-0, besting the previous mark of six set in 2007. The Mustangs have won 10 consecutive regular-season contests and seven straight at home.

*Washington collected two weekly awards when the Centennial Conference tabbed Jimmy Kielek and Thom Cecere as the league’s Offense and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. Kielek, a senior attackman and an Archbishop Curley graduate, totaled four goals and six assists in two games last week, including a hat trick and four assists in a 16-7 win against Muhlenberg on Saturday. Cecere, a junior defenseman and St. Mary’s graduate, posted seven groundballs and three caused turnovers last week, and he scored his first collegiate goal in a 11-7 victory over Hampden-Sydney on Wednesday.

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Salisbury, Stevenson, Washington
        

Washington College senior goalie Gordon Cohen was named the Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week after anchoring the Shoremen's 2-0 start.

Cohen registered 14 saves in the team's season-opening, 11-6 win against Kean last Wednesday. He followed up that performance by making nine saves and surrendering just two goals in almost 41 minutes in a 20-6 victory over Virginia Wesleyan Saturday. Cohen has posted a .742 save percentage and a 4.78 goals-against average.

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Categories: Washington