Jim Berkman

While Johns Hopkins' streak of 41 straight appearances in the NCAA tournament came to an end Sunday night, Salisbury maintained its Division III-leading streak of 25 consecutive showings in the postseason. The team will play host to Susquehanna (12-6) this Wednesday at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury. Unlike Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala who downplayed the end of his program's streak, Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman said his team's streak is meaningful to the players and coaches. “It was definitely something that we've been very proud of here to have that long of a streak and to play at such a high for a long period of time,” said Berkman, who has guided Salisbury to 10 national championships including the last two. “I don't know how else to explain other than to say that we always take pride in playing what we call the real season now. To have that opportunity again for the 25th year is special.” But the Sea Gulls (14-5)

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 has not missed an NCAA tournament since 1988, capturing the championship 10 times - including in each of the last two seasons. With a 14-4 record and the No. 4 ranking in the South region, the program is in solid position to extend its consecutive streak to 25 appearances. But that is not how coach Jim Berkman feels. He said the team is determined to defeat St. Mary's (11-6) in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament final at Sea Gull Stadium on Sunday and seize the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.

When reigning national champion Salisbury opens a semifinal contest of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament against Mary Washington this Saturday at Sea Gull Stadium, 10 days will have passed since the team's last game - a 7-6 setback to then-No. 12 Washington College on April 17. Coach Jim Berkman is hoping that the Sea Gulls (13-4), who slipped from No. 5 to No. 7 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll because of that loss to the Shoremen, will still be sharp when they take the field Saturday.

Reigning national champion Salisbury has won the past 11 meetings and 14 of the last 15 with Washington College. But as the two sides prepare for the latest installment of the “War on the Shore” series Wednesday night in Chestertown, Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman said he and his players have no intention of overlooking the Shoremen. “They've got a win over a team that beat us,” Berkman pointed out Monday. “They beat [Washington and Lee], 8-4, and we lost to W&L, 7-6. So they have a couple good wins on their schedule.

Fighting for a berth in the Centennial Conference tournament, No. 12 Washington College could have used a week to dissect last Saturday's 15-10 loss to No. 2 Dickinson and prepare for Saturday's road contest against Gettysburg. Instead, the Shoremen get the unenviable task of welcoming reigning national champion and No. 5 Salibury to Chestertown Wednesday night for its next installment of the “War on the Shore” annual series. In the past, the rivals have met on a Saturday, but because of Centennial Conference obligations, Washington (10-2)

Reigning national champion Salisbury was rewarded for Saturday's 15-4 rout of St. Mary's with the program's 17th Capital Athletic Conference regular-season title. The Seahawks (1993-94) and Stevenson (2009 and 2011) are the only other teams that have captured league championships, and the Sea Gulls (13-3 overall and 6-0 in the conference) assured themselves of the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the tournament. But Salisbury will not know its semifinal opponent until the upcoming weekend.

By virtue of their unblemished records in the Capital Athletic Conference, reigning national champion Salisbury and St. Mary's are in the driver's seat for the top two seeds and accompanying first-round byes in the league tournament. But that hasn't diluted the significance of Saturday's tilt at Seahawk Stadium in St. Mary's City. The Sea Gulls (12-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference) have finished in first place in the league 16 times since the CAC was formed for the 1993 season, but their reign of dominance ended in 2009 and 2011 when Stevenson took home the championships.

The ruptured spleen that sidelined senior midfielder Ryan Clarke for the remainder of the season just five games into 2013 may have created a vacuum among Salisbury's stable of standout players. Fortunately, Eric Kluge has stepped in to fill the void. The senior midfielder leads the No. 6 Sea Gulls (12-3) in goals with 32 and points with 41, and he led all scorers with four goals in the team's 24-4 walloping of Wesley on Wednesday night. Joined by juniors Greg Korvin (11 goals and 10 assists)

Reigning national champion Salisbury has captured 17 league titles in the 20-year history of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), but this season's campaign may be the most critical to the program. Wednesday night's 10-8 loss to No. 3 Stevenson dropped the No. 6 Sea Gulls to 10-3 and may have endangered the team's bid for an at-large berth in the South Region of the NCAA tournament. Coach Jim Berkman also pointed out another side effect of the setback. “We might have lost the opportunity to host some playoff games,” he said.