Season Review: Sea Gulls go wire-to-wire to win 7th National Title
SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University men’s lacrosse team went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 ranked team in the country en route to the program's seventh NCAA Division III national championship, fourth in the past five years, as the maroon and gold completed arguably one of the best seasons in NCAA history.

The Sea Gulls set an NCAA record for wins in a season with 23 and also set new NCAA marks for goals, assists and points. Salisbury finished the season with 417 goals, 271 assists and 688 points which broke the previous record held by the highly decorated 1995 National Champion Sea Gull squad. Salisbury also posted a 17-0 home record at Sea Gull Stadium.

"This was definitely one of the greatest seasons we’ve had here," said SU coach Jim Berkman, who was selected by his peers as the 2007 Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. "To play that many games and not lose is an awful tough thing to do."

Salisbury also tied the school record for All-American's in a season with 11. The Sea Gulls placed six on the first team, one on both the second and third teams and had three honorable mention selections. The 1995 team had 11 All-Americans as well.

Senior Chase Caruso repeated as a first-team All-American selection at long-stick midfielder, took home his second consecutive Division III LSM of the Year award and was named Division III Player of the Year. The Huntington, N.Y. native became the seventh SU player to earn the National Player of the Year award and the first since Justin Smith was honored in 2005. In addition, Caruso repeated as the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year and returned to the All-CAC first team. Caruso finished the season with 40 caused turnovers, 37 ground balls and scored one goal. He was also added to the nationally recognized Tewaarton Trophy preseason watch list prior to the start of the '07 campaign.

Fellow senior Luis Gonzalez was named a first-team All-American as a defensive midfielder and also was honored as the first-ever Division III Specialist of the Year. Gonzalez was additionally named to the All-CAC first team as a short-stick midfielder. The Crofton, Md. native caused 26 turnovers, scooped up 36 ground balls and totaled 17 points on 10 goals and seven assists. Gonzalez was also one of three Sea Gulls drafted in the '07 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft. The Washington Bayhawks selected the midfielder with the second pick of the 5th round.

Another MLL draftee, senior Chris Heier, garnered his second consecutive spot on the All-American first team as he became the ninth Division III Defenseman of the Year from Salisbury. The seventh pick of the fourth round by the San Francisco Dragons in the MLL draft was also an All-CAC first team selection and an USILA Scholar All-American. The Fallston, Md. native caused 34 turnovers, corralled 46 ground balls and dished out one assist.

Sophomore standout Kylor Berkman was the final Sea Gull to earn a national award as he was selected as the Division III Midfielder of the Year. The Salisbury, Md. native led the team in assists with 44 and ranked 26th in the country in assists per game with a 1.19 assists per game average. The first-team All-American and first-team All-CAC honoree ranked fourth on the team with 79 points and second on the team among midfielders with 35 goals.

The high flying Salisbury offense ranked No. 1 in the country in scoring with an 18.13 goals per game average and had all three starting attackmen earn a spot on one of the All-American teams.

Senior Eric Bishop was a first-team All-American and All-CAC selection as he led the Sea Gulls with 102 points. The Media, Pa. native ranked 12th in the nation in points per game with a 4.43 average and 21st in the country in goals per game with a 2.91 average. Bishop finished the year ranked third on the team in goals and assists with 67 and 35, respectively, and rounded out his career ranked eighth all-time in school history with 130 goals.

Junior Matt Hickman was named a second-team All-American and a first-team All-CAC selection after his breakout season. The national championship game’s Most Outstanding Player ranked second on the team with 75 goals and had a 3.41 goals per game average to rank him seventh nationally. The Darnestown, Md. native also ranked second on the team with 94 points and had a 4.27 points per game average to rank him 15th in the country in that category.

"Hickman has always been a hard worker," said Berkman. "Matt is a tough kid that took a lot of punishment all season long because of the way he plays but he continued to pound the ball into the net. He has set himself up for a great senior season."

The third of the starting attackmen is junior Greg Titus who led the team in goals scored (76) and ranked third on the team in points (91). Titus was an honorable mention All-American this season. The Setauket, N.Y. native had a season to remember as he was three goals away from tying the school record of 79 goals in a season set by SU Hall of Famer Jason Coffman. Titus ranked ninth in the nation in goals per game with a 3.30 goals per game average and ranked 26th in points per game with a 3.96 average.

"Titus gave us a little more than what we’ve normally had in the crease because of his athletic ability," said Berkman. "He was a little more at home inside and was very smart. He knew when to cut and where to cut to."

Senior midfielder Matt Dasinger quietly ranked fourth on the team in goals (43) and fifth on the team in points (62) as he earned himself a spot on the All-American first team and All-CAC first team. The Reisterstown, Md. native was also the first Division III player selected in the MLL draft as he went to the Rochester Rattlers with the ninth pick of the second round.

Junior midfielder Brett Yoder earned honorable mention All-American honors and was the lone Sea Gull to be named to the All-CAC second team. Yoder ranked second on the team in assists (38) and added 15 goals on the year. The Parkton, Md. native cracked the top 50 in assists per game with a 1.65 average to rank him 49th in the nation.

Senior goalie Max Zarchin was the backbone of the No. 1 ranked defense that allowed 5.0 goals per game. Zarchin earned his second straight spot on the honorable mention All-American team and was an All-CAC first team selection. The Annapolis, Md. native ranked second in the country with a 5.40 goals against average and concluded his career ranked eighth all-time in school history with 307 saves.

The team leader in caused turnovers (42) was senior defenseman Kyle Hartzell, a third-team All-American and first-team All-CAC selection. The Dundalk, Md. native ranked third on the team in ground balls (83) and was only behind SU’s two faceoff specialists in that category.

"Hartzell emerged late in the season as one of our top defenders," said Berkman. "To see him evolve into the player he became is why you coach."

Salisbury's nine All-CAC selections tied the school record previously set by the '95 team. The individual accolades can be attributed to the team's undefeated run at its seventh national title as they outscored their opponents by 13.13 goals, the top ranked scoring margin in the country.

The Sea Gulls opened up the '07 season in unfamiliar territory after they fell in the 2006 Division III National Championship game to SUNY Cortland in overtime, 13-12. Salisbury quickly erased the bad memories from that downfall as they jumped out to a 4-0 record with a 20 goal per game average.

SU's first big test of the season was against No. 3 Roanoke College, a team the Sea Gulls narrowly defeated in the '06 national semifinals. The Sea Gulls handled the overmatched Maroons as they cruised to the largest margin of victory in the series with a 28-4 win. Salisbury road the momentum of the 22-goal win over Roanoke to win its next five games and push its record to 10-0 going into the regular-season match up with No. 5 Gettysburg.

The Bullets were regarded as one of the stoutest defenses in the country but Salisbury never trailed to Gettysburg as they improved to 11-0 with a 10-6 win.

The Sea Gulls ran through their next four games to enter the CAC tournament as the No. 1 seed with a perfect 15-0 mark.

The addition of Hood and Villa Julie made no difference to the Sea Gulls as they earned the program's 13th straight conference championship since joining the CAC in '95. Salisbury outscored its three competitors 63-9 throughout the CAC tournament.

Salisbury's regular-season finale pitted the Sea Gulls against No. 16 Washington (Md.) College in Chestertown, Md. The Sea Gulls successfully defended the Charles B. Clark Cup as they won 13-5 in the annual "War on the Shore" game.

Salisbury earned its 19th straight NCAA tournament bid and went through three familiar foes en route to the national championship game.

In the NCAA second round, the Sea Gulls used 10 first half goals to pace them to a 16-8 win over Widener University. SU defeated Widener 13-7 in the regular-season on March 14.

The Sea Gulls then hosted No. 7 Roanoke in the NCAA quarterfinals. SU fell behind early, 3-0, but ripped off seven straight goals to take a 7-3 lead into the half. Six third quarter goals proved to be the undoing of the Maroons as Salisbury won 15-9.

Gettysburg was the next opponent for Salisbury as the Gulls hosted the Bullets in the NCAA national semifinal. The game was a defensive battled as Gettysburg held Salisbury to a season-low nine goals. The Bullets only managed six scores as Salisbury advanced to play in the program’s 10th NCAA Division III national championship.

For the season Salisbury's stifling defense never allowed an opponent to score in double-figures. The offense managed to score 20 or more goals in seven games and 15 or more goals in another 10 contests. SU's consistent dominance throughout the season placed the Sea Gulls in a league of their own.

Game of the Year

NCAA Division III National Championship • May 27, 2007
No. 1 Salisbury 15, No. 12 SUNY Cortland 9

The Sea Gulls avenged their loss in the '06 national championship game with a six-goal win over the defending national champion Red Dragons at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore before a crowd of 22,778. Salisbury trailed by three early, 4-1, but scored six straight goals over an 11 minute stretch to give them a 7-4 advantage. The Sea Gulls took a slim 7-6 lead into halftime. Cortland quickly tied the game at seven just 45 seconds into the third quarter but that was as close as the Red Dragons would get.

From that point SU put little doubt in everyone’s mind as to who the best team in the nation was as the Gulls scored seven of the next eight goals to take a 14-8 lead with less than eight minutes left in the game. Each team tacked on one more goal as Salisbury earned the team's fourth national championship in the past five seasons and the third national title won in M&T Bank Stadium (2003, '04, '07).

"Baltimore has been good to the Gulls," said Berkman. "We've been on a pretty nice five-year run. When you get to the championship and let one get away it adds fuel to the fire. I think our players knew what needed to be done to get back there and they accomplished it."

Hickman, the game's Most Outstanding Player, scored five goals and added one assists while Bishop totaled a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists. Zarchin recorded 12 saves in the win.

Early 2008 Preview

The Sea Gulls will once again be the team to beat in 2008. Salisbury returns two of the top attackmen in the country in Hickman and Titus and will look to a loaded bench to fill the final position.

"Those two guys [Hickman and Titus] are probably going to be preseason All-Americans," said Berkman. "We just need to fill that third spot. We don’t know who it’s going to be right now but we definitely have a lot of talent at that position."

Midfield wise the Sea Gulls are set offensively. The graduation of Dasinger leaves an open spot, but the return of Berkman, Yoder, senior-to-be Kevin Kustron and rising sophomore Mike Von Kamecke will once again have Salisbury as one of the top midfield units in the country. Kustron and Von Kamecke combined for 40 points on the year with 19 goals between the two.

"We are probably going to play around with the midfield a bit," said Berkman. "We have one of our best freshmen midfield classes coming in as our offense won’t be an issue for us."

On the defensive side, rising senior Ryan Browning will assume the role of the top long-stick midfielder.

"Ryan is a great ground ball guy," said Berkman. "He is very fast and athletic and has been waiting for his time to shine."

Sophomore-to-be Connor Burgasser will likely move to close defense from LSM. Burgasser's athleticism will add to the strength of the defensive unit. Burgasser will be joined by rising senior Ben Sandlin as the top two defenders. Sandlin played in all 23 games and made eight starts. He caused 20 turnovers and scooped up 42 ground balls.

Junior-to-be Riley Clark will be the preseason favorite to succeed Zarchin between the pipes for Salisbury as he posted a 54 percent saves percentage.

The defending champs will take a 62-game regular season win streak, an NCAA record 60-game home win streak, an NCAA record 71-game regular season conference win streak and an NCAA record 90-game conference win streak into next season.

"I think we're going to be pretty solid next year," said Berkman. "Our guys are always confident because they believe we are going to win and next season should be no different."