Sea Gulls Complete Three-peate With 1-0 Win Over Messiah
November 19, 2005

SALISBURY-MESSIAH BOXSCORE | SU TOURNEY GAME NOTES
FINAL FOUR SITE | NATIONAL FIELD HOCKEY BRACKET
LEXINGTON, Va. - Salisbury University became the first team in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive field hockey national titles with a 1-0 win over Messiah College in the National Championship game on Saturday afternoon at Washington and Lee University’s Liberty Hall Field.

The Sea Gulls also set an NCAA record with their 12th consecutive victory in the NCAA Tournament.

"It's unbelieveable. This really hasn't set in yet - but wow!" said Salisbury Head Coach Dawn Chamberlin in referring to the Sea Gulls’ three straight national championships.

The Falcons controlled the play for most of the first half as they outshot Salisbury 11-4 and held a 7-2 edge in penalty corners, but they couldn't put any shots past Sea Gulls sophomore goalkeeper Maria Ramoundos (Gloucester, N.J./Highland) (pictured, left). Ramoundos’ ‘personal protector’ Sarah Tracey (Hampstead, Md./Hereford) (pictured, below) made two key defensive saves to preserve the scoreless tie at intermission.

In the second half, both defenses continued to dominate the game until Salisbury broke the scoreless tie when junior defender Sarah Tracey scored a goal off a penalty corner at the 40:09 mark. Senior forward Brittany Elliott (Delmar, Del./Delmar) assisted on the goal.

This was the only goal that the Sea Gulls needed as their defense shut down the Falcons offense in the second half.

Tracey and Kristina Holland (Pocomoke, Md./Pocomoke) keyed SU’s defensive assault in the final 35 minutes. With numerous clears and saves, Salisbury appeared to keep Messiah frustrated. With about 15 minutes remaining, Tracey came up with another huge defensive save on a shot that had rolled by Ramoundos. Tracey batted the sure goal away at the last second, making her mark both offensively and defensively. With a collective effort, Messiah’s big scorers Jenna Schwind and Aftan Fisher were kept off the board.

"I think the second half was so much stronger than the first. We started dictating what was happening on the field," explained Chamberlin. "We were playing some really good defense and just wouldn't give up any goals. It was just a great defensive effort today."

Ramoundos helped the Sea Gulls defensive effort with her seven saves, while freshman goalkeeper Renee Herbster (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) stopped two shots for the Falcons.

Messiah outshot Salisbury, 17-12, and held a 12-6 edge in penalty corners.

With the win, the Sea Gulls concluded their season with a 21-1 record, while the Falcons finished 20-3