Coach Jim Berkman tries to preach the typical “one-game-at-a-time” lesson to his Salisbury University men’s lacrosse team. But to the players, only one game matters: the national championship.
Salisbury (21-0) has set the standard at the Division III level by winning six national titles since 1994, and it is again thefavorite to bring home the crown this year. The Sea Gulls, who have 14 Baltimore area players on the roster, host Gettysburg at 1 today in the NCAA Division III semifinals. Salisbury won the regular-season meeting, 10-6.
Recommended Stories
Today’s game represents the fifth straight national semifinals for the top-seeded Sea Gulls, who are still upset about losing their bid for a fourth straight title in last year’s championship game, a loss to Cortland State. They have set a school record for wins in a season and have won 59 straight at home.
“Only two Division III teams get to play in Baltimore, and we want to be one of them,” said Berkman, whose team advanced to the Final Four with a 15-9 win Wednesday against Roanoke. “The bar for success has been set by the players here for everything that we’ve accomplished through the years.”
Should Salisbury win, it would play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between Wesleyan and Cortland State. The Division III title game will be played May 27 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Salisbury?s women’s lacrosse team is also in today?s national semifinals. The Sea Gulls (20-1) will play Middlebury, whom they beat, 11-10, in the regular season, at 2:30 at William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y. After joining their male counterparts in setting a school record for most wins in a season, the Salisbury women advanced to the semifinals with a 20-11 win last Sunday over Colorado College.
Coach Jim Nestor is hoping the Sea Gulls, whose roster is also heavily Baltimore-flavored, can lean on past postseason success as it attempts to win its first national title. The Sea Gulls are in the semifinals for the third time in four years and would play the winner of Franklin & Marshall-Gettysburg in the championship game Sunday with a win today.
“This is not a new experience for most of the girls on the team,” Nestor said. “They know how to prepare for a game like this. The key is to remain mentally focused.”
