Salisbury, national champion in 1994, 1995 and 1999, begins its quest for a fourth national championship on Wednesday on the road at Hampden-Sydney in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.  The Sea Gulls are making their 14th straight tournament appearance, the longest active streak among Division III teams.  A victory would move Salisbury into Sunday’s quarterfinal round against either Gettysburg or Stevens Tech.

Salisbury’s Postseason History
In addition to making its 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Salisbury is playing in the postseason championship for the 24th time in 29 years of lacrosse. SU is also playing in the Division III Tournament (initiated in 1980) for the 20th time, extending its own NCAA record for the most appearances in the championship. Since 1980, the Gulls are 21-16 in tournament games, including 17-10 during Coach Jim Berkman’s tenure. The Sea Gulls have appeared five times in the national championship game, including most recently in 2000.

First Road Test Since 1991
Wednesday’s game at Hampden-Sydney will be the first NCAA Tournament road game for the Sea Gulls since 1991, not including four national championship games played at College Park, MD. SU’s last road test came in the 19991 semifinals at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, OH. SU won that game 18-12 to earn its first national championship game appearance. Salisbury has played 22 NCAA games since that contest, with 18 of those at Sea Gull Stadium and four at Byrd Stadium in College Park.

SU - Hampden-Sydney Series History
The Sea Gulls and Tigers have played 18 times previously, with Salisbury holding a 17-1 advantage in the series. The teams have met twice in the postseason, both times in the quarterfinal round, with Salisbury winning 23-8 in 1995 and 15-10 in 1999. Salisbury went on to win the national championship in each of those seasons. The 1999 playoff match-up is also the last meeting between the teams. Salisbury has won 10 straight in the series.

Season in Review
The Sea Gulls have scored 235 goals and surrendered just 122, outscoring opponents by an average of 14.7 - 7.6. Salisbury opened the season with a five-game winning streak and closed the year by winning three of its last four. SU claimed its eighth straight Capital Athletic Conference championship in 2002 and entered the 16-team NCAA Tournament by claiming the CAC’s automatic berth as the conference champion.

Sea Gull Notes
Sophomore attackman Andy Arnold is the team’s leading scorer this year with 58 points (32g-26a). Senior attackman Steve Brianas is next with 34 points (27g-7a), with sophomore midfielder Scott Simmons is close behind with 33 points (26g-7a), including a career-high six goal performance in SU’s 14-10 loss to Washington last Saturday. Overall, five of SU’s top six scorers and nine of its top 11 are either freshman or sophomores. Freshman goalie Dan Korpon has started all 16 games between the pipes and averages 7.3 saves per game.

Scouting Hampden-Sydney
The Tigers are a veteran team making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance during Head Coach Ray Rostan’s 17-year tenure. Hampden-Sydney finished as the runner-up to Washington & Lee in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and received one of the two Pool C at-large berths for the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have not played since the ODAC final on April 27. Their 8-3 loss to W&L in that game snapped a 13-game winning streak.  HSC averages 12.1 goals/game while allowing opponents 6.4/game. Junior midfielder Jason Rostan, son of the head coach, was the ODAC’s Player of the Year in 2002.

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