Hot Start Leads Salisbury Past Lynchburg
from press releases
SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 4 Salisbury University
men's lacrosse team defeated No. 18 Lynchburg 14-9 in
front of 825 at Sea Gull Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the
victory, the Sea Gulls now have a six-game winning streak over
Lynchburg and are 16-1 all-time in the series.
The Hornets (0-1) were able to get on the board first, with an
unassisted goal by Austin Jeter (two goals) just a minute and
forty-three seconds into the game. The Sea Gulls (2-0) would even
things up a minute later, with senior attackman Mike Winter (Port
Washington, N.Y.) scoring off an assist from sophomore midfielder
Sam Bradman (Canton, N.Y.) for Winter's first goal of the year. The
Sea Gulls would close out the quarter with a pair of goals just 37
second apart, receiving scores from Bradman and freshman
attackman Eric Law (Centennial, Colo.).
SU would open up the scoring in the second quarter with a goal by
sophomore attackman Matt Cannone (Bayport, N.Y.), before the
Hornets countered with a goal of their own to close the score to
4-2. The SU offense came alive from that point on, as the Gulls
scored seven-straight goals to end the half, including an
unassisted goal by Cannone just as time expired.
"In the first-half, we were really disciplined on offense," said
22nd year head coach Jim Berkman. "We didn't take shots from
outside six yards, and that was our game plan coming in to
today.
The Sea Gulls would strike first in the third quarter with another
goal by Winter with 13:34 remaining in the quarter. Over the next
11 minutes, Lynchburg went on a run of its own, as it scored
four-straight goals to bring the score to 12-6 with just 1:54
remaining in the quarter. After the Gulls won the ensuing face-off,
Law contributed with an unassisted goal to put an end to the run
and cut down on the momentum the Hornets had been gaining. The
maroon and gold scored just one goal in the fourth quarter as they
opted to spread the field and run some time off the clock.
Winter led all scorers with five goals, which matches his previous
career-high for goals that he set on March 17, 2009 against
Colorado College. Bradman (three goals, two assists) and Cannone
(four goals, one assist) each had their second-straight five-point
performance.
On the defensive side, seniors Connor Burgasser (Mendon, N.Y.) and
Will Poletis (Baltimore, Md.) led the way as they each caused two
turnovers and picked up four and three ground balls, respectively.
The SU defense held Lynchburg's preseason third-team All-American
midfielder Eddie Bilinkas in check, as he was only able to garner
one point in the loss. The man-down unit played well as it held
Lynchburg to just 1-of-5 on man-up opportunities. Junior goalkeeper
Johnny Rodriguez (Gambrills, Md.) finished with seven saves in the
game, including five in the first quarter.
For the second straight game, the Sea Gulls outshot their
opponents, this time with a 43-30 advantage and also held
a 37-30 ground ball advantage. SU was 23-of-27 on clears,
while the Hornets were 19-of-29 on clear attempts. Senior Ryan
Finch (Finksburg, Md.) (11 ground balls) propelled the Gulls on
face-offs as he won 14-of-21 attempts.
The Sea Gulls will hit the road for a game at Widener University,
next Saturday at noon. SU is 6-0 all-time against the Pride,
including 2-0 in games played on the Widener campus.
