Salisbury Men’s Soccer Making Second NCAA Final Eight Appearance
Sea Gulls (16-2-3) Visit Drew (19-1-2) on Saturday

Salisbury, Md - Coming off a pair of overtime games in last weekend’s NCAA Regional Tournament, the Salisbury University men’s soccer team has advanced to the final eight for the second time in team history. The Sea Gulls face Drew University in Madison, NJ on Saturday at 1 pm, with the winner advancing to next week’s NCAA final four.

The Gulls advanced to the national quarterfinals after defeating Rowan 1-0 in overtime and advancing past Messiah in the regional final with a 7-6 penalty kick win following a scoreless tie. Since the contest against Messiah is officially recorded as a tie game, the Sea Gulls saw their school-record 12-match winning streak end with that decision.  SU still carries a school-record 13-match unbeaten streak into Saturday’s contest.  

Salisbury’s only previous visit to the national quarterfinal round came in 1999. The Sea Gulls lost 1-0 at Wheaton (IL) College in that game.

“We’re not just satisfied with being in the final eight,” said Salisbury Head Coach Gerry DiBartolo. “After graduating 11 seniors and six starters from last year and having some questions to answer in the preseason, this team has rallied well and really come together. I think all eight teams remaining have a chance to win it all, including us.”

Saturday’s contest will feature two of the premier defensive teams in the nation. Salisbury has allowed just 10 goals in 21 games this year, with 14 shutouts and a 0.46 goals against average. Drew is riding a 16-game shutout streak and has allowed just three goals in 22 games this year. The Rangers lead the nation in shutout percentage and goals against average (0.13). Drew brings a 15-match winning streak into Saturday’s contest.

“These are two teams that concentrate on defense and I think both teams will hunker down and defend,” said DiBartolo. “I assume it will be a low-scoring and close contest. Our plan is to just continue to play to our strengths. There are certain things that I think we do as well as any team in the country, and we’ll concentrate on continuing that on Saturday.”

Tickets for the game are $6 for adults and $3 for students with a valid ID.

Salisbury 2003 Statistics