Jim Berkman

For the third time in the last four seasons, Stevenson and Salisbury will meet in the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals and at stake is a spot in the championship final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 26. Both sides took different paths to the same destination. The No. 4 Mustangs (20-2) have been ranked in top five for pretty much the entire year and collected a program-record 20th victory with Wednesday night's 13-7 victory over No. 13 Lynchburg. The No. 12 Sea Gulls (17-5)

This was supposed to be the year that Salisbury fell from the top of the Division III mountain - hard. After graduation had sapped the team of six starters, two more 20-goal scorers and two short-stick defensive midfielders, the team limped to a 1-2 start and suffered its first losing streak since 2009 and dropped below .500 for the first time since 1989. The Sea Gulls rebounded with nine consecutive wins, but was stunned, 7-6, by Washington College on April 17 in their final contest before the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and then upended, 13-11, by St. Mary's in the conference tournament final.

Winning national championships has become synonymous with Salisbury, but Sunday's 14-10 victory over SUNY-Cortland in the NCAA tournament final might be the most poignant one for the players and coach Jim Berkman. Berkman suffered a mild heart attack while working out at his local gym March 11. After having two stents inserted to remove a blockage in one of the arteries, he was permitted to return to the team eight days later. In the aftermath of what has been a whirlwind journey, Berkman reflected on the path to the program's 10th national title during his post-game comments at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Prior to Sunday night's NCAA tournament semifinal against No. 4 Stevenson, No. 12 and reigning national champion Salisbury had advanced to nine of 10 Final Fours and won every single one to advance to the title game. That did not happen against the Mustangs, who registered a convincing 12-6 victory over the Sea Gulls at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. While the Stevenson players and coaches celebrated with their fans, Salisbury (17-6) huddled in front of the net on its side of the field and got some words of wisdom from coach Jim Berkman.

Now that Salisbury secured one of the few coveted at-large berths in the NCAA tournament, Jim Berkman feels secure enough to stand on a limb and proclaim that the team can win the national championship for the third consecutive year and the 11th time in the program's history. Sounds crazy? Maybe, but aside from SUNY-Cortland, the top seed in the North region, and Dickinson, the top seed in the South, no other team in the field has less than two losses. “The crazy thing about this is, I really believe that we can still win the whole tournament,” the Sea Gulls coach said Monday morning.

Salisbury's 7-6 double-overtime loss to Washington & Lee Wednesday might raise the panic meter surrounding the 10-time national champion, which is 1-2 for the first time and under .500 for the first time since 1989. But coach Jim Berkman said that the Sea Gulls' two-game losing streak is just a minor hiccup for the program. “There are 17 games in the lacrosse season. We just played three, and we've lost two games by a goal - one in double overtime. I don't panic,” Berkman said Thursday morning.

SALISBURY -- Being called a second-half team is not an insult to Salisbury men's lacrosse. That's not to say that the Sea Gulls, ranked No. 1 in Division III by Inside Lacrosse, overlook the importance of the first half. Rather, it's a recognition of the mastery of their coach, Jim Berkman. A week ago, Salisbury walked into halftime with a three-goal cushion against No. 10 Villa Julie in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament. In the locker room, Berkman adjusted the offense to feature a two-man game between senior midfielder Bruce Richardson and sophomore midfielder Mike Von Kamecke, both of whom were marked by short-stick defensive midfielders.

Sunday's 14-10 victory over SUNY-Cortland in the NCAA tournament final capped a perfect 23-0 campaign for Salisbury, which captured its 10th national championship and joined Hobart as the only Division III programs to claim double-digit NCAA crowns. Winning the title was the primary objective, but going undefeated was also icing on the cake for several Sea Gulls. “It's unbelievable,” said senior defenseman Andrew Sellers, a Baltimore native and Archbishop Curley native. “That's the goal every year. Last year, we lost the game [to Stevenson on April 16, 2011]

Getting into a five-goal hole, failing to capitalize on extra-man opportunities, and committing too many penalties are just some of issues that flared up in No. 6 Salisbury's 10-8 loss to No. 3 Stevenson Wednesday night. Those troubles were noted by coach Jim Berkman, but he also tried to glean positives from the setback. “We've got to stay out of the penalty box, that's for sure,” he said Thursday morning, referring to the 13 penalties the team accumulated. “But I was proud of how our kids came back.

The cards did not look stacked in Salisbury's favor as the reigning national champion took on the unenviable task of trying to upend undefeated Dickinson. But that is exactly what the No. 12 Sea Gulls did as they evicted the No. 2 Red Devils, 11-9, from a NCAA tournament quarterfinal Wednesday. Salisbury improved to 17-5 and will meet No. 4 Stevenson (20-2) this Sunday night for the right to advance to the title game in Philadelphia on May 26. It is a development that coach Jim Berkman is thankful for. “It was a great win on the road against a team that had an unblemished season,” he said Thursday morning.

Reigning national champion Salisbury has won 10 of 15 meetings in this series and is 2-0 against Stevenson in the NCAA tournament semifinals. But the Mustangs took the last contest, 10-8, at Sea Gull Stadium on April 3. The Sea Gulls (17-5) - ranked 12th in the most recent United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll - are making their 10th Final Four appearance in the last 11 years and have advanced to the title game every time. Junior attackman Rhett DePol has recorded 19 goals and a team-high 34 assists after managing nine goals and eight assists last season.

For the third time in the last four seasons, Stevenson and Salisbury will meet in the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals and at stake is a spot in the championship final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 26. Both sides took different paths to the same destination. The No. 4 Mustangs (20-2) have been ranked in top five for pretty much the entire year and collected a program-record 20th victory with Wednesday night's 13-7 victory over No. 13 Lynchburg. The No. 12 Sea Gulls (17-5)

When Salisbury opened the 2013 season in defense of the national championship it had captured last May, the team limped to a 1-2 start and the thought of advancing to the NCAA tournament semifinals appeared to be remote. At least that was the way coach Jim Berkman saw it. “It was definitely a distant possibility at that time,” he said Thursday after recalling a 13-12 setback to Lynchburg on Feb. 16 and a 7-6 double-overtime decision to Washington and Lee four days later. “But by the same token, they were both one-goal losses and in both games, we had a one-on-one to win the game.

The cards did not look stacked in Salisbury's favor as the reigning national champion took on the unenviable task of trying to upend undefeated Dickinson. But that is exactly what the No. 12 Sea Gulls did as they evicted the No. 2 Red Devils, 11-9, from a NCAA tournament quarterfinal Wednesday. Salisbury improved to 17-5 and will meet No. 4 Stevenson (20-2) this Sunday night for the right to advance to the title game in Philadelphia on May 26. It is a development that coach Jim Berkman is thankful for. “It was a great win on the road against a team that had an unblemished season,” he said Thursday morning.

Dickinson, the top seed in the South region, will make only its second appearance in a NCAA tournament quarterfinal when Salisbury visits Carlisle, Pa., on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Sea Gulls, a 10-time national champion, will play in their 16th consecutive quarterfinal. Advantage, Salisbury? Coach Jim Berkman declined to declare that, but he did agree that the tension and pressure is turned up as a team advances deeper into the postseason. “Being at this point, there is more at stake, there is more tension, there is more urgency into the game,” Berkman said Monday.

Three goals from freshman attackman Brady Dashiell and a suffocating defensive effort fueled No. 12 Salisbury's 7-4 upset of No. 8 Washington and Lee in Saturday's second-round contest of the NCAA tournament. But that does not mean that all is well with the reigning national champion. The first midfield of senior Eric Kluge and juniors Tyler Smith and Greg Korvin finished with zero goals and zero assists against the Generals, marking the first time this season that the trio had been shut out since partnering together in March.

Prior to Sunday night's NCAA tournament semifinal against No. 4 Stevenson, No. 12 and reigning national champion Salisbury had advanced to nine of 10 Final Fours and won every single one to advance to the title game. That did not happen against the Mustangs, who registered a convincing 12-6 victory over the Sea Gulls at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. While the Stevenson players and coaches celebrated with their fans, Salisbury (17-6) huddled in front of the net on its side of the field and got some words of wisdom from coach Jim Berkman.

When Salisbury opened the 2013 season in defense of the national championship it had captured last May, the team limped to a 1-2 start and the thought of advancing to the NCAA tournament semifinals appeared to be remote. At least that was the way coach Jim Berkman saw it. “It was definitely a distant possibility at that time,” he said Thursday after recalling a 13-12 setback to Lynchburg on Feb. 16 and a 7-6 double-overtime decision to Washington and Lee four days later. “But by the same token, they were both one-goal losses and in both games, we had a one-on-one to win the game.

No. 12 Salisbury's 7-4 upset of No. 8 Washington and Lee in the second round of the NCAA tournament last Saturday was immensely gratifying to the reigning national champion for two reasons. The Sea Gulls earned their 15th consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals since the tournament added a round prior to the quarterfinals for the 1998 tournament, and they made amends after dropping a 7-6 double-overtime decision to the Generals on Feb. 20. “It was nice to win the game because it obviously gets us to the quarterfinals,” coach Jim Berkman said Monday morning.