Christopher Newport

More than three hours before game time, Stevenson alumnus Scott Murray stood amid a growing contingent of tailgaters in a parking lot overlooking the school's new $9 million stadium. He couldn't help but smile. "We started as just a small girls school," said Murray, a 2001 graduate of the one-time commuter school known until three years ago as Villa Julie College. "Football kind of puts us on the map. " The feeling was shared by many among the sellout crowd of an announced 3,500 on Saturday night, as the Owings Mills school played its first Division III home game and came away with a 46-43 win in double overtime over nonconference foe Christopher Newport.

Four Division III teams from the area will open the first round of the NCAA tournament this Wednesday. Stevenson (17-2) will play host to Christopher Newport (8-8), Washington College (12-4) welcomes Colorado College (13-4), St. Mary's (12-6) visits Lynchburg (12-5), and Salisbury (14-5) hosts Susquehanna (12-6). Here is what each coach had to say about his team's respective first-round opponent. Salisbury coach Jim Berkman on Susquehanna: “Not much, other than their coach is a former Sea Gull.

Carlos Heard led undefeated Christopher Newport with a game-high 26 points as the Captains (7-0) defeated visiting Salisbury State, 73-56, yesterday in men's basketball. The Sea Gulls (6-4) were led by Victor Jackson with 21 points. Doug King added 14, and Josh Merkel had 12. Women Christopher Newport 77, Goucher 71: Tia Moore's 22 points led the Captains (7-1), who pulled away from the host Gophers (4-4). Kim Rogers led the Gophers with a game-high 24 points. Kate Guggino had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Goucher.

St. Mary's had a 5-2 lead over host Lynchburg after three quarters of an NCAA Division III men's lacrosse tournament first-round game Wednesday night. But the Hornets scored four unanswered goals in the fourth to beat the Seahawks, 6-5. Vin Curran scored two of his three goals during the rally. Curran sparked the game-winning 4-0 run with his second of the game at 12:56. Jay Goldsmith then pulled the Hornets (13-5) within 5-4 with an unassisted goal before Max Voumard knotted the game at 5 two minutes later, firing one into the lower left corner.

Sophomore Beth Rhodey had a career game in Salisbury's 19-5 win at Christopher Newport yesterday. Rhodey outscored the Captains (0-1) with six goals. She finished the day with eight points, as she assisted on two first-half goals. Salisbury (2-0) scored the game's first five goals - two on free-position shots - to take the lead less then 12 minutes into the first half. Christopher Newport did not score until the 12:24 mark. Salisbury led 12-1 at the half. Men St. Mary's 21, Hood 4 -- Freshman attackman Dennis Rosson had four goals and three assists in his first game to help the host Seahawks beat the Blazers in the season and Capital Athletic Conference openers for both teams.

Junior guard Tori Moten's driving layup in traffic fell off the rim as time expired last night, as host UMBC lost to Temple, 38-36.Temple, which held a 17-10 edge at halftime, gained its largest lead at 32-22 with an 11-2 run midway through the second half.UMBC (0-2) rallied within 32-31, sparked by five points by freshman guard Kathy Doyle. But the Retrievers could not pull ahead.Junior center Shememe Williams scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to lead the Owls (1-1).* Navy 76, Long Island University 65: Adria Scheck and Becky Dowling combined for 41 points and 20 rebounds as Navy cruised over Long Island in Brooklyn.

SALISBURY - Salisbury football coach Sherman Wood preached to his team all week that they could play with anyone in Division III - if they didn't turn the ball over. Unfortunately for Wood, the undefeated Sea Gulls turned the ball over seven times (four fumbles, three interceptions) yesterday in a 35-24 loss to Christopher Newport in an NCAA Division III first-round playoff game. The Captains advance to Saturday's second round, where they will play at Washington & Jefferson, a 55-48 winner over Bridgewater, Va., in double overtime.

Visiting Loyola shot 20-for-25 from the free-throw line but just 13-for-54 from the field in a 67-46 loss to Virginia Commonwealth yesterday in women's basketball. Katie Scherle led Loyola (2-6) with 10 points and six rebounds. Krystle Harrington followed with seven points and four assists. Michele Cosel came off the bench and scored a career-high 16 points for Virginia Commonwealth (3-3), including 3-for-3 from three-point range. The Greyhounds outrebounded the Rams 41-37. University of Dallas 72, College of Notre Dame 45: The Gators, who shot 3-for-26 in the first half and trailed 29-11 at the break, lost to the Crusaders in the final game of the University of Dallas Classic.

Top-ranked Virginia scored three times in the second half to defeat Maryland, 4-2, yesterday in a men's soccer game at Charlottesville, Va.Nate Friends had a goal and an assist to lead the Cavaliers (3-1).Terps senior Malcolm Gillian (Oakland Mills) scored 28:23 into the game to tie the game at 1.Virginia ended a 40-minute scoreless stretch on a goal by Billy Walsh.* Loyola 5, St. Peter's 0: Five players scored to lead Loyola (4-0) past St. Peter's (0-4) in a second-round game of the Loyola Budweiser tournament.

Geoff Honeysett had two goals and an assist to lead 20th-ranked James Madison over Mount St. Mary's, 4-0, in men's soccer yesterday in Harrisonburg, Va.Honeysett's header at the 27th minute gave the Dukes (12-3) a 2-0 lead en route to a three-goal first half. Honeysett got his second goal when he followed a shot by Dave Mason in the 53rd minute.The Mount (10-7-1) got nine saves from Eric McPhee (Fallston) and Bruce Engle.Towson State 2, Drexel 1: Junior Andre Wise scored from 12 yards out, off a pass from Andy Stroud, with 5: 03 remaining to lead the host Tigers (9-7, 5-4)

Colleges Terps ' Griffin earns WomensLax.com honor Maryland redshirt freshman midfielder Brooke Griffin (South River) was named WomensLax.com Rookie of the Week honors after netting a game-high six points in an NCAA tournament opening-round victory over Massachusetts. Baseball: Salisbury (31-7), ranked fourth in Division III, will be the second seed in the NCAA Newport News Regional and will play fifth-seeded Lynchburg today at 1 p.m. in a first-round game in Newport News, Va. The winner will face the winner of the game between third-seeded Shenandoah and No. 4 Rowan on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The loser of the Salisbury-Lynchburg contest will play the loser of the game between No. 1 Christopher Newport and No. 6 Messiah Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Track and field: Salisbury's Chelsea Tavik (Seton Keough)

College lacrosse 5 local players added to Tewaaraton watch lists The Tewaaraton Foundation announced on Wednesday the second and final round of additions to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the best men's and women's lacrosse players in the country. Six players have been added to the men's watch list, from which the 12th annual Tewaaraton Award winner will be selected and honored May 31 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.

More than three hours before game time, Stevenson alumnus Scott Murray stood amid a growing contingent of tailgaters in a parking lot overlooking the school's new $9 million stadium. He couldn't help but smile. "We started as just a small girls school," said Murray, a 2001 graduate of the one-time commuter school known until three years ago as Villa Julie College. "Football kind of puts us on the map. " The feeling was shared by many among the sellout crowd of an announced 3,500 on Saturday night, as the Owings Mills school played its first Division III home game and came away with a 46-43 win in double overtime over nonconference foe Christopher Newport.

When the lights go up on Owings Mills Boulevard Saturday night, a new era will dawn for Stevenson University. A capacity crowd of 3,500 is expected to pack the school's new $9 million stadium, built on the site of the former Ravens and Colts training facility. A 75-piece marching band will take to the state-of-the-art field turf to blare out the school's newly minted fight song, with images beamed live to cable TV viewers throughout the region. And referees will break out special footballs emblazoned with the Stevenson logo and the words "Stadium Opening 2011.

College lacrosse No. 1 Maryland women win, 8-5, reach ACC title game Sarah Mollison had a hat trick and top-ranked Maryland (16-0) won, 8-5, over No. 12 Boston College (11-6) in an Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal Friday in Cary, N.C. Captain Laura Merrifield added two goals and a key interception late in the second half to secure the Terps' 26th consecutive win. The Eagles controlled possession for 45 minutes and forced a slower-paced game. The Terps will face No. 6 North Carolina in Sunday's championship at 1 p.m. Becky Lynch and Laura Zimmerman each scored four goals to power the Tar Heels (12-4)

Sophomore Beth Rhodey had a career game in Salisbury's 19-5 win at Christopher Newport yesterday. Rhodey outscored the Captains (0-1) with six goals. She finished the day with eight points, as she assisted on two first-half goals. Salisbury (2-0) scored the game's first five goals - two on free-position shots - to take the lead less then 12 minutes into the first half. Christopher Newport did not score until the 12:24 mark. Salisbury led 12-1 at the half. Men St. Mary's 21, Hood 4 -- Freshman attackman Dennis Rosson had four goals and three assists in his first game to help the host Seahawks beat the Blazers in the season and Capital Athletic Conference openers for both teams.

St. Mary's had a 5-2 lead over host Lynchburg after three quarters of an NCAA Division III men's lacrosse tournament first-round game Wednesday night. But the Hornets scored four unanswered goals in the fourth to beat the Seahawks, 6-5. Vin Curran scored two of his three goals during the rally. Curran sparked the game-winning 4-0 run with his second of the game at 12:56. Jay Goldsmith then pulled the Hornets (13-5) within 5-4 with an unassisted goal before Max Voumard knotted the game at 5 two minutes later, firing one into the lower left corner.

Hard-running Leroy Satchell has transformed Salisbury University from just another outstanding football team into a major force in the NCAA Division III tournament. "He's probably the toughest guy to tackle in my eyes," Sea Gulls senior linebacker Brad DeHaven said. "I remember last year we got to bang a little. He can really hit. They don't let us go against each other in practice." While Satchell, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound junior, has used his brute strength to roll up a team-leading 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns this season in the team's triple-option offense, DeHaven also knows a lot about hitting people.

No. 19 UMBC defeated Air Force, 13-7, in the first game of the Pioneer Face-Off Classic in Denver. Drew Westervelt led UMBC (2-0) with three goals and four assists, and Cayle Ratcliffe scored three goals. The Falcons fell to 1-1. Loyola 10, Penn State 9 -- Despite scoring the first four goals of the game, the Nittany Lions (0-3) fell to the Greyhounds (1-2) in their ECAC opener. As both teams looked for their first win of the season, Loyola scored seven goals in the fourth quarter and two goals in the final 22 seconds to complete the comeback.

Playing in her fourth varsity season, senior Melissa Bierley leads the No. 2-ranked Seahawks in scoring. A three-year starter in field hockey, Bierley also plays lacrosse and is on the yearbook staff. She lives on the water in Riva and is into tubing and skiing. Which of the two sports you play do you hope to play in college? Field hockey is my favorite, and I want to play it in college. I will be making visits to Lynchburg (Va.), York (Pa.) and Christopher Newport (Va.). I had played lacrosse forever and didn't start playing field hockey until high school when my brothers encouraged me to. I love the team thing with field hockey and I enjoy making an assist as much as scoring a goal.