A bitter conference rivalry played out in Maryland as Salisbury took down Stevenson 16-10 Saturday. What started as an evenly matched slugfest ended as a convincing win for the DIII powerhouse Seagulls, but Stevenson will surely be up for redemption if the two foes meet in the CAC tournament later this spring.
SALISBURY UNIVERSITY PRESS RELEASE:
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The No. 2-ranked Salisbury University men’s lacrosse team defeated No. 1 Stevenson University 16-10 in a Capital Athletic Conference contest in front of 1,534 in attendance at the Caves Athletic Complex. The win today marks the second straight week the Sea Gulls have hit the road and defeated the No. 1 team in the country, after defeating then-No. 1 Gettysburg College last Saturday, 11-10, in overtime.
With the victory the Sea Gulls (12-0, 3-0 CAC) improve to 5-2 all-time against the Mustangs. The victory today at the Caves Athletic Complex marks the second straight season the Sea Gulls have knocked off Stevenson as the No. 1 team in the nation at the complex, as last year the Gulls won in the CAC championship 13-5.
The first quarter was played at a frantic pace as each team took turns marching the ball up and down the field at full speed. The Mustangs (10-1, 2-1 CAC) opened up the contest with a pair of goals, before the Sea Gulls struck with a Mike Von Kamecke (Winter Park, Fla.) tally off an assist from sophomore midfielder Sam Bradman (Canton, N.Y.) to get on the board. Senior attackman Mike Winter (Port Washington, N.Y.) evened things up in the eighth minute off an assist from sophomore midfielder Tim Lum (Long Valley, N.J.). Play would be halted for a 20-minute delay, as each team had a player suffer an injury that required medical attention on the field. Salisbury took its first lead of the contest following the delay, as sophomore attackman Matt Cannone (Bayport, N.Y.) buried home an unassisted goal with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Mustangs closed out the quarter with a pair of unassisted goals of their own to take a 4-3 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter was played at a much more controlled tempo, as each team began to run their set offenses. Salisbury opened the quarter with a brilliant goal in transition following a Johnny Rodriguez (Gambrills, Md.) save. Rodriguez collected the ball and sent a long pass up the field to senior long-stick midfielder Connor Burgasser (Mendon, N.Y.) who successfully cleared the ball and sent it to Winter who rocketed home the shot. Stevenson jumped out to a 6-4 lead following a pair of goals, before senior attackman Jake DeLillo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) tallied his first goal of the day off an assist from Winter with eight minutes remaining in the quarter. Over the final eight minutes the Sea Gulls outscored the Mustangs 3-2, including a man-up goal by Winter from Cannone that sent the teams even at 8 goals apiece into the locker rooms.
The third quarter was all Salisbury, as the maroon and gold opened up the frame with another tally by Winter just nine seconds in off an assist from DeLillo. The Sea Gulls continued to possess the ball throughout the first ten minutes and found goals from Cannone and junior midfielder Shawn Zordani (Littleton, Colo.) to increase the lead to 11-8. The two teams finished the quarter with each side notching a goal. Rodriguez made several key saves in the quarter to fluster the Stevenson offense.
The fourth quarter was much of the same as the same as the Sea Gulls outscored the Mustangs 4-1, including senior defensive-midfielder Will Poletis (Baltimore, Md.) tallying his second goal of the year.
Salisbury was led by Winter who finished with four goals and one assist. Cannone and Von Kamecke were close behind as they each finished with three goals and one assist. DeLillo racked up three points with two goals and one assist.
Rodriguez and the members of the Salisbury defense played brilliantly today, as they held the nation’s fourth best scoring offense to a season-low 10 goals and just two goals in the second half. Rodriguez notched his 27th career victory as he posted 15 saves.
The Sea Gulls will return to the friendly confines of Sea Gull Stadium this week, with a mid-week CAC contest against St. Mary’s (Md.) College this Wednesday at 7 p.m.