St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's lacrosse team did not repeat last Friday's performance against No. 10 Salisbury University in Thursday's Capital Athletic Conference semifinal match-up, as the third-seeded Sea Gulls eliminated No. 2 seed St. Mary's, 18-5, to advance to the program's 15th conference championship game.

The 14-time defending CAC Champions, Salisbury (13-3) will take on top-seeded and top-ranked Stevenson University on Sunday for the CAC title. Stevenson notched a 19-4 victory over fourth-seeded Wesley College in today's other semifinal contest.

After being held to just one assist last Friday, junior attacker Jake DeLillo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) exploded for five goals and a helper in leading the Sea Gulls to the semifinal victory. The reigning CAC Player of the Year, senior midfielder Kylor Berkman (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) matched DeLillo's game-high six points with two goals and four assists, while sophomore attackman Erik Krum (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) registered his second hat trick against the Seahawks.

The Sea Gulls outscored St. Mary's, 4-1, in the first period as DeLillo found the back of the net three times. Sophomore attackman Chris Becraft (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) scored the home team's lone goal.

St. Mary's netted two of the second quarter's first three goals before SU tallied three straight to post an 8-3 advantage at 4:18. A pair of goals by junior captain Ryan Alexander (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) sandwiched one by DeLillo for a 9-5 Salisbury halftime lead.

The visitors did the most damage in the second half as the Sea Gulls rattled off nine consecutive goals, while the Salisbury defensive unit held the Seahawks scoreless for 30 minutes. Eight different players scored for the maroon and gold.

Alexander was the only Seahawk to have a multiple goal game as he finished with two goals, while sophomore attackman Dennis Rosson (Severna Park, Md./Severn) dished out two assists.

Junior Ryan Finch (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) helped kickstart the Sea Gull offense as Finch won 15-of-23 face-offs, including 8-of-9 in the second half. Finch also scooped up a game-high seven loose balls.

In goal, sophomores Johnny Rodriguez (Gambrills, Md./Mt. St. Joseph) and Tim Swinburn (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) combined for five saves, all in the second half, in the victory. Sophomore goalie Pat Simpson (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) made eight stops for the Seahawks.

Salisbury fired off 37 shots to the Seahawks' 21, while the Sea Gulls edged St. Mary's, 38-32, in ground balls.

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April 16, 2009

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - For the first time in program history the Salisbury University men's lacrosse team found themselves in unfamiliar territory on Thursday afternoon, as the third-seed Sea Gulls played their first-ever Capital Athletic Conference tournament game on the road. The Sea Gulls did not disappoint as they enacted revenge against second-seed St. Mary's (Md.) College with an 18-5 win in the CAC semifinal round. The Seahawks handed Salisbury an 11-10 loss last Friday (April 10) as SMC scored a last second goal to beat the Sea Gulls for the first time since 1977.

Salisbury (13-3), who is ranked 10th in the nation, will travel to Owings Mills, Md., on Sunday, April 19, to face top-ranked and top-seed Stevenson University in the conference championship. The Sea Gulls have won every CAC title, 14 straight, since they joined the conference in 1995. On the line Sunday will be an automatic bid into next month's NCAA Division III tournament. Salisbury, the two-time defending national champions, lost 12-8 against Stevenson at home on April 4. Stevenson (14-0) defeated fourth-seed Wesley College (10-5) by 15 goals, 19-4, in the other CAC semifinal on Thursday.

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2009-04-16