Mustangs

The Salisbury men's lacrosse team has a defense that doesn't get as much attention - or respect - as the offense. That might change after sophomore goalkeeper Alex Taylor made a game-high 19 saves and the defense limited visiting Stevenson to its lowest output in eight years in a 7-2 victory in an NCAA tournament semifinal before an announced 500 at Sea Gull Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The reigning national champion Sea Gulls (22-0) will seek their 10th title when they meet SUNY Cortland in Sunday's title game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

The Salisbury men's lacrosse team has a defense that doesn't get as much attention - or respect - as the offense. That might change after sophomore goalkeeper Alex Taylor made a game-high 19 saves and the defense limited visiting Stevenson to its lowest output in eight years in a 7-2 victory in an NCAA tournament semifinal before an announced 500 at Sea Gull Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The reigning national champion Sea Gulls (22-0) will seek their 10th title when they meet SUNY Cortland in Sunday's title game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Brad Markey threw a one-hitter, struck out nine and drove in three runs to lead top-ranked C. Milton Wright over No. 9 Fallston, 7-0, at Ripken Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory, the Mustangs clinched the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division title. It was Markey's second shutout against the Cougars this season. "I knew this one was an important game," Markey said. "My go-to pitch was my fastball today. It was keeping them off balance most of the time.

Much like their Loyola and Denver brethren on the Division I level, Salisbury and Stevenson will meet for the third time this, tangling in Sunday's NCAA tournament semifinal at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury. And like the top-seeded Greyhounds, the No. 1 seed Sea Gulls are aiming to complete a three-game sweep, having beaten the Mustangs, 11-10, on April 14 and 12-9 in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament final on April 28. As daunting as that task may sound, Salisbury coach Jim Berkman didn't sound concerned about the challenge.

katherine.dunn@baltsun.com Goals: MR---Grote 2, Thompson, Stukenberg, DiAntonio, Diffendal; C—Mercer 4, Flister 3, Bordner, Quigg, Remenapp. Assists: MR—Stukenberg; C—Quigg, Remenapp. Saves: MR—Clipp 3; C—Pentz 4. Half: C, 5-2.

For most of Saturday night's Class 2A state final at UMBC, fourth-ranked Fallston appeared to have all of the answers for the high-powered offense of No. 2 Marriotts Ridge. The Mustangs, however, kept pressing and finally broke through when Kwadwo Owusu-Boiatey headed in a corner kick from Kyle Mercer with 6:07 left in the first overtime to give Marriotts Ridge a 1-0 victory. It was the Mustangs' first state title and their 16th consecutive victory. The Mustangs have only given up five goals over that stretch.

Amy Ator hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in MacKenzie Fitzgerald with the winning run as the No. 5 C. Milton Wright softball team beat visiting No. 12 Mount de Sales, 2-1, on Saturday. The Mustangs (16-1) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Jessica Canami walked, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Lindsay Kuczak. It was the only earned run of the game. The Sailors (10-7) knotted the score in the top of the seventh as pitcher Holly Whitehead scored.

C. Milton Wright forward Stacey Milton is just about back to full strength. That's bad news for the rest of the county's girls basketballteams.But that's great news for the Mustangs.Milton sat out early in the season recovering from mononucleosis and a finger broken in five places. She returned to the lineup full time last week and led the Mustangs to their biggest two wins of the season.First, they beat co-defending county champ North Harford, 43-37, on Tuesday. Not only did Milton contribute 19 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, four assists and two steals, but she scored six of the Mustangs' 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The C. Milton Wright girls lacrosse team always has relied on balanced scoring under head coach Kathy Breymaier, yet junior Becky Gerhart has quickly assumed the lead role on attack.Gerhart has gone from a defensive player with average skills to the Mustangs' strongest player up front, with quickness and stickwork, while leading the county in goals scored (42) a year ago. Gerhart's move up to attack last season also allowed the Mustangs to advance to the state semifinals."I want to be the leader, I would rather have that responsibility," said Gerhart, who also leads the Mustangs in ground balls.

Paul Cantabene finds his team in a position he never thought Stevenson University would be in five years ago when he became coach. The Mustangs are unbeaten in 12 games, ranked No. 1 in Division III and fresh off a 12-8 win over defending champion Salisbury on Saturday night. So far, Cantabene and his Mustangs are living a dream season. "When I first took the job, I thought I would be here a year, maybe two, before I went back to Division I," said Cantabene, a former assistant at Towson and Maryland.

By dispensing of visiting Denison, 14-7, in a NCAA tournament quarterfinal at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Wednesday night, Stevenson got what it desperately wanted: another shot at nine-time reigning national champion and Capital Athletic Conference archrival Salisbury in a national semifinal on Sunday. And that desire was vividly expressed by sophomore attackman Tyler Reid, who said the Mustangs are eager to make amends for their April 14 loss in which the Sea Gulls rallied from a 9-3 deficit late in the third quarter to escape with an 11-10 decision on a goal from senior attackman Matt Cannone with 11 seconds left in regulation.

Denison enters this NCAA tournament quarterfinal with a 15-1 record and a six-game winning streak. But the Big Red's only loss of the season occurred April 7 at the hands of Stevenson, which is 17-4 and has won five of its last six contests. The Mustangs are 3-1 all-time against Denison and have won 12 of 13 games at home this season, most recently against Gettysburg in the second round last Saturday night. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Wednesday night.

Mount Hebron midfielder Samantha Brookhart spends 20 minutes of every practice honing her draw control skills and it paid off in a regional final rematch Wednesday night against the Vikings' biggest rival, defending state champion Marriotts Ridge. Brookhart won a handful of draws and her teammates won most of the rest to give the Vikings a huge edge in possession, fueling a 10-8 victory in the Class 3A-2A East girls lacrosse final that spoiled the No. 4 Mustangs unbeaten season.

When it comes to the playoffs, the Glenelg boys lacrosse team has that been-there-before way about doing things . More proof came in Wednesday's Class 3A-2A South region title game as the No. 10 Gladiators had all the answers against Howard County rival and No. 15 Marriots Ridge. All-Metro senior attackman Nick Wynne scored four goals and added two assists, goalie Landry Marshall finished with nine saves to lead Glenelg to an 11-6 win against the Mustangs at Western Regional Park.

When Denison pays a visit to Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Wednesday night for an NCAA tournament quarterfinal, Stevenson won't be unfamiliar with the Big Red. That's because the two teams tangled on April 7 with the Mustangs emerging with a 12-9 victory. That contest should help Stevenson reacquaint itself with Denison. “I think we've just got to know what they're about,” coach Paul Cantabene said Monday of the Big Red. “They're a very talented team with a lot of older kids playing for them, especially on the offensive end. They're a dangerous team.

Stevenson has had a tradition of turning out high-powered offenses, but it has been the defense that has carried the Mustangs this season . And the unit delivered again Saturday night as Stevenson defeated visiting Gettysburg, 13-6, in a second round Division III playoff game. Stevenson's defensemen Parker Bratton , Kyle Holecheck, Kyle Fendlay, Matthew Schenck and midfielders Ryan Rubenstein and Warren Pumphrey dominated the Bullets, and kept another team under six goals or less for the 13th time this season.

Stevenson has thrown as many as six guys out for faceoffs, but three - senior Doug Reidt, junior Sam Ramatowski and freshman Sam Wyatt - have taken at least 96 draws each. Reidt owns the best percentage this season at 53.6 percent and has taken the most faceoffs (181). Ramatowski ranks second in attempted draws (110) and has won 51.8 percent. Wyatt has been the team's first option in the Greyhounds' last two contests, winning a combined 59.1 percent (13-of-22) in victories against Ohio Wesleyan and Birmingham-Southern.

No. 4 Marriotts Ridge preserved its perfect season Tuesday night with a 16-12 victory over No. 7 South River in the District V girls lacrosse championship game at South River. South River's plan early in the game, which pits the Anne Arundel County champion against the Howard County champion, was to deny Zoe Stukenberg the ball. Junior defender Bella Pyne drew the task of face-guarding Stukenberg. The plan played into Marriotts Ridge's hands, though. With the high-scoring Stukenberg drawing the defensive attention, offensive opportunities opened for Taylor Hensh (five goals)