Sea Gulls

Simona Petronyte hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to bring Towson within one, but no closer, as the Tigers fell to visiting William and Mary, 61-60, yesterday. Towson (8-3, 0-1 Colonial Athletic Association) missed four free throws in the final 20 seconds. The Tribe (8-4, 1-0) ended Towson's six-game home winning streak and extended its winning streak to three. William and Mary has won five of the past seven at Towson. The opening half featured three ties in the first 16 minutes.

Host Loyola scored the first eight goals and went on to beat UMBC, 21-6, yesterday at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. Grace Gavin scored a game-high four goals for Loyola (2-1). Abby Rehfuss and Colleen O'Keefe added three each. Meg Taylor took a pass from Gavin, scoring the game's first goal 39 seconds into the game. Loyola's defense held UMBC to eight shots in each half and forced 20 turnovers. Amanda Pappas (Chesapeake-AA) led the Retrievers (1-2) with two goals. No. 9 Georgetown 11, Johns Hopkins 7: : The visiting Hoyas (2-0)

This time, there will be no nightmares about crossbars hit in overtime, or saves that weren't made. This time, there will be no taskmaster coach goading his team by replaying the lowlights of a historic loss on a locker room television. This time, the pertinent question for Salisbury isn't what went wrong, but something more pleasant to consider: Is this the finest Sea Gulls team ever? Coach Jim Berkman and his Salisbury dynasty made it four NCAA Division III titles in five seasons yesterday before an announced 22,778 at M&T Bank Stadium, where they fell behind early, shrugged off a third-quarter tie and hammered SUNY Cortland, 15-9.

Allentown, Pa. -- Muhlenberg converted two late fourth-quarter fumbles by Salisbury into 10 points, leading the Mules to a 31-21 win over the Sea Gulls in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs yesterday. Salisbury, which never led, rallied from a 21-6 deficit to tie the game at 21 in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ronnie Curley (Howard) connected with Kevin Tillage on a 77-yard touchdown pass that cut Muhlenberg's lead to 21-19, and Jamar Garner scored on the ensuing two-point conversion.

No. 3 Maryland remained unbeaten with a 19-6 win against Brown yesterday in College Park. Four Terps scored at least three goals, led by Krista Pellizzi with five goals and an assist and Katie Princiotto with three goals and three assists. Maryland (5-0) controlled the game from the beginning, allowing just nine shots in each half while taking 54 shots. The Terps' defense shut down the Bears' attack at the end of the game as Brown (1-3) went the last 21:28 without scoring a goal. Maryland's Lauren Cohen had a career-high four assists and scored a goal.

Salisbury has relied on its option offense all season to accumulate big yardage in its running game. In yesterday's ninth annual Regents Cup game against rival Frostburg State, however, the 13th-ranked Sea Gulls went to a seldom-used option - the pass - to time and again burn the Bobcats' defense in a 35-14 win at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Ronnie Curley, a junior out of Howard High School, completed five of his six passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Kevin Tillage, helping Salisbury gain 448 yards of offense and post its fourth straight win in the series.

The task was as evident as it was difficult for Frostburg State.Win yesterday's game against cross-state rival Salisbury State and the Bobcats would not only clinch the Atlantic Central Football Conference championship but also face a better than even chance of making the Division III playoffs for the first time since 1994.In a back-and-forth fourth quarter that saw four lead changes, Frostburg kept its hopes alive as quarterback Jason Henry threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Greg Cooper with 2: 43 left for a 23-22 win before 5,192 at PSINet Stadium.

Salisbury State senior goalkeeper Jason Tarnow acknowledges he's often a little out of control.Every big save is celebrated with fist-pumping, and every goal allowed is like failing a final exam.But yesterday afternoon against Denison in the NCAA Division III men's lacrosse semifinals, Tarnow was on, and then some.His solid play in the first half helped the third-seeded Sea Gulls build a 6-0 halftime lead en route to a 14-7 victory over the seventh-seeded Big Red, sending Salisbury into the national-championship game for the first time since it won it all in 1995.

Despite beating top 10 teams Johns Hopkins, Mary Washington and Greensboro (N.C.), the Salisbury State men's soccer team didn't join the nation's elite during the regular season.Now, the Sea Gulls (18-3-1) are there by the process of elimination, as South Regional champion and one of eight teams remaining in the NCAA Division III playoffs. They play at Wheaton College (17-2-2) in Illinois at 2 p.m. Saturday. A win would put the team in the national semifinals next weekend and serve as further vindication of its heretofore unrecognized strength.

Sophomore attackman David Ulrich scored with 53 seconds left to propel Notre Dame past No. 15 Butler, 8-7, yesterday in men's lacrosse at Moose Krause Stadium in Notre Dame, Ind.It was the fifth win in their last six games for the Fighting Irish (5-2, 3-0), who trailed 7-5 at the start of the fourth quarter.Ulrich also assisted on Steve Bishko's goal that tied the game at 7 with four minutes left.Salisbury State 29, Western Maryland 4: Kevin Fox had six goals and Chris Fowler five as the Sea Gulls, ranked No. 2 in Division III, buried the host Green Terror.

Duke got goals from sophomore attackman Zach Howell and sophomore defenseman Tom Montelli in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, which ultimately carried the No. 3 Blue Devils over No. 6 North Carolina, 12-11, in the NCAA Division I tournament quarterfinals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. With Duke's win, the Division I men's final four is set with Virginia-Cornell in one semifinal and Syracuse-Duke in the other Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. Duke had a 10-8 lead over North Carolina at the end of the third quarter.

Nearly three weeks ago, after Salisbury had embarrassed Stevenson in the Capital Athletic Conference championship game, Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman said it wasn't time to count out his team nationally. As of Wednesday evening, the time had come. Host Stevenson avenged the April 19 rout by Salisbury with an 11-9 win Wednesday in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals, beating the two-time defending national champion before an announced 1,302. The Mustangs (17-1) will host Gettysburg (15-3)

CHESTERTOWN -In a season of peaks and valleys, it's not shocking that the Salisbury men's lacrosse team, ranked No. 5 in Division III, experienced highs and lows in its regular-season finale. The Sea Gulls took a four-goal advantage at halftime, squandered the lead, and trailed by one early in the fourth quarter before the eight-time overall and two-time reigning Division III national champions rallied to a 12-11 win over host Washington College before an announced 2,511 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium on Saturday in the teams' "War on the Shore."

Before there was lacrosse for Kylor Berkman, there was soccer. "When I was 12 or 13, soccer was my favorite sport," he said. "And then when I got to high school, I kind of fell in love with lacrosse all over again. I didn't see myself following through with lacrosse all through college, but that's the way it turned out, and it worked out." Which is unfortunate for SUNY Cortland, Gettysburg and the rest of the Division III schools that have watched Berkman, a senior midfielder for the Salisbury men's lacrosse team, develop into perhaps the best player in the country.

Attackmen Jake DeLillo and Matt Cannone combined for seven goals, and visiting Salisbury held Stevenson scoreless for the first half as the No. 10 Sea Gulls easily defeated No. 1 and previously unbeaten Stevenson, 13-5, in the Capital Athletic Conference championship game in Owings Mills. Salisbury (14-3), the defending Division III champion, won its 15th consecutive conference championship and avenged a 12-8 loss to Stevenson (14-1) this season. The Sea Gulls looked as if they were rounding into their usual championship form while the Mustangs appeared to be doing the opposite.

Perennial power and third-ranked Division III men's lacrosse team Salisbury saw its unbeaten conference record come to an end Saturday night at 105 games. Top-ranked Stevenson handed the eight-time national champion Sea Gulls their first conference loss in 14 years and second defeat in the past three games. Nicola Bevacqua and Richie Ford each scored four goals to power the visiting Mustangs past the Sea Gulls, 12-8. Salisbury (11-2, 5-1) lost to Gettysburg, 11-10, on March 28 before beating Mary Washington, 14-5, on Wednesday.

Stevenson men's lacrosse coach Paul Cantabene thinks his team's Capital Athletic Conference series with Salisbury is becoming a rivalry. Sea Gulls coach Jim Berkman doesn't quite feel the same way. "With the intensity of the last couple of games that we've played with them, I would say that it's one of the biggest rivalries out there," Cantabene said. "I don't think they like a new person in their conference. This has been their conference for years, and they've won it. I don't think they like getting someone new in there and trying to take their role.

One week after a tough 16-15 loss to unbeaten and top-ranked Virginia, the No. 6 Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team suffered an even harder-to-swallow setback Saturday at North Carolina as the No. 13 Tar Heels got a goal from Sean Delaney 2:29 into overtime to slip past the Blue Jays, 10-9. Hopkins, which trailed for nearly the entire game before scoring twice in the final 5:16 to force the extra session, slips to 3-4 while the Tar Heels improve to 8-3. Hopkins won the faceoff in overtime but never seemed comfortable setting up, and senior Brian Christopher turned the ball over 15 yards in front of the goal in the middle of the field.

Freshman midfielder Karri Ellen Johnson and sophomore midfielder Brandi Jones combined for eight goals as second-ranked Maryland used a strong second half to defeat host Towson, 14-7, on Tuesday. Johnson tied a season high by scoring five goals, including four in the second half. Jones scored three goals and added three assists, matching a career high in both categories as the Terps improved to 9-0. "We came out in the second half and were connecting and finishing our shots," Maryland coach Cathy Reese said.

Brandi Jones and Caitlyn McFadden each scored twice during a five-goal run midway through the second half to carry the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team past host and No. 8 Georgetown, 14-12, yesterday at Multi-Sport Field. Ashby Kaestner, who scored three goals, gave the Hoyas (3-2) their first lead, 10-9, with 20:12 left before the Terps (5-0) started their run. Jones and Sarah Mollison each finished with three goals. Towson 13, Temple 7: : Nikki Marcinik scored a season-high four goals and added two assists as the host Tigers (3-1)