Who's No. 1? Salisbury Leaves No Doubt
by Matt DaSilva | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Game Blog
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Salisbury midfielder Sam Bradman skirts Stevenson's Tyler Maguire during Saturday's 16-10 Sea Gulls victory. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- A game that featured 26
goals, 81 shots, a ton of intrigue, a 20-minute delay and three
ambulance calls ended in a familiar tome Saturday: Salisbury
celebrating a victory over the nation’s top-ranked team.
Behind a dominant second half and the hot hand of goalkeeper
Johnny Rodriguez, the No. 2-ranked Sea Gulls avenged their 2009
NCAA Division III quarterfinal loss with a 16-10 victory over No.
1-ranked Stevenson before 1,534 fans at Caves Athletic Complex.
Salisbury had defeated Cortland (12-11) and Gettysburg (11-10 in
overtime) when those teams were ranked No. 1. This game
wasn’t as close. The Sea Gulls seized momentum late in the
second quarter with back-to-back goals by Sam Bradman and Mike
Winter that tied the game 8-8 going into halftime, took the lead
nine seconds into the third quarter on another Winter tally and
never looked back.
“We’ve been waiting for this day since May 13,
2009,” said junior goalkeeper Johnny Rodriguez, referring to
Salisbury’s 11-9 loss to Stevenson that kept the Sea Gulls
out of the final four for the first time since 2002.
“That’s a tough memory to get out of your
head.”
“J-Rod,” who has struggled with consistency this
season, got hot in the third quarter. Ten of his 15 saves,
including several acrobatic stops, came in the second half.
“Johnny, sometimes you need to just put a leash on him. He
gets a little rambunctious,” said Sea Gulls head coach Jim
Berkman. “He’s an extremely talented athlete, but we
want him to make the save first.”
Stevenson (10-1, 2-1 CAC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead early on goals
by Sean Calabrese and Jimmy Dailey.
Salisbury (12-0, 3-0) answered with goals by Von Kamecke and
Winter.
The game was suspended for 20 minutes at the 6:56 mark of the
first quarter when Sea Gulls midfielder Tim Lum -- who had assisted
Winter’s goal less than two minutes earlier -- locked up with
Mustangs long pole Mike Gustowarow near the sideline and fell to
the ground writhing in pain.
Berkman said Lum, who was carted off in a gurney on a gator,
likely broke a bone in his lower leg or ankle.
“He was in shock,” Berkman said. “They had to
strap him down. He was losing it.”
As trainers tended to Lum, Evan Douglass, Stevenson’s top
defenseman, coughed up blood on the Mustangs sideline. Douglass
absorbed a shot on Salisbury’s previous possession and was
bleeding internally after the stick’s follow-through pierced
his midsection.
Both players left in ambulances to be examined at a local
hospital. A third ambulance later arrived after an unspecified
incident in the stands.
When play resumed, Salisbury took a brief 3-2 lead on the first of
Matt Cannone’s three goals. But Stevenson answered just five
seconds later, as faceoff specialist Ray Witte won the ensuing draw
forward and sent a bounce shot past Rodriguez. Steve Kazimer put
the Mustangs back up by one just 36 seconds after that, and
Stevenson led 4-3 after the first quarter.
The Mustangs opened up a two-goal advantage in the second quarter
with a quick-striking offense spearheaded again by Witte, who
netted another goal off his own faceoff. But after clawing back to
tie the game at 8, Salisbury made halftime adjustments on the wings
and defense to nullify Witte, who won 16 of 29 faceoffs but was
called for several early-start violations.
Stevenson head coach Paul Cantabene, the top faceoff specialist of
his era as a player, voiced frustration with the officiating.
“We were on the whistle. Berkman got in their ear,”
said Cantabene, who added with an admitted degree of sarcasm,
“They should get rid of faceoffs. It’s not worth doing
anymore. It drives coaches crazy and officials can’t
officiate it.”
Salisbury held Stevenson scoreless for over 13 minutes spanning
the second and third quarters, turning an 8-6 deficit into an 11-8
lead.
Thanks to nifty long pole play and a clean finish by Jake
Stocksdale, the Mustangs broke through for a fast-break goal that
brought them within 11-9 at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter.
But shifty Sea Gulls midfielder Sam Bradman answered three minutes
later with a rocker dodge and bounce shot that found the top left
corner of the cage. Salisbury blew it open with four more
unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter.
Stevenson’s offense stalled due to forced crease feeds and
poor shot selection. Midfielder Kyle Moffitt was 0-for-12
shooting.
The lone bright spot was Dailey, who finished with three goals and
two assists.
Winter paced Salisbury with four goals and an assist. Cannone and
Von Kamecke added three goals and an assist apiece.
