Sea Gulls

For good luck, some people throw salt over their shoulders, while others caress rabbit's feet. Still, a hardy few carry horseshoes.Jim Berkman has Byrd Stadium in College Park.The coach of the Salisbury State men's lacrosse team has won two Division III championships in three attempts, and both victories occurred at the home of the Maryland Terrapins.As the No. 3 Sea Gulls prepare to meet fifth-ranked Middlebury in the title game at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Byrd Stadium, Berkman is crossing his fingers that his streak will continue.

SALISBURY -- An hour before Salisbury's NCAA Division III men's lacrosse quarterfinal game against Eastern Shore rival and ninth-ranked Washington College yesterday, there was one thing missing for the top-ranked Sea Gulls: their coach. Salisbury coach Jim Berkman had to be rushed from Peninsula Regional Medical Center to Sea Gull Stadium in time for the game. Berkman, who recently had knee surgery, has been dealing with a staph infection for the past few days. Berkman watched the first half from the Salisbury sideline.

SALISBURY -- Salisbury State, powered by three goals and one assist from Scott Walstrum, defeated cross-shore rival Washington College, 14-11, yesterday before 1,018 at Sea Gull Stadium.The No. 2 Sea Gulls (11-1), whose only loss is to No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan, put themselves in good position for the NCAA Division III tournament, with only New York Tech and Denison left on their schedule."It's just a matter of playing for a seed," said Salisbury coach Jim Berkman. "We know we're in the tournament."

SALISBURY -- There were no excuses after Salisbury State fell one game short of the NCAA Division III Final Four.The Sea Gulls were No. 2 in the final national rankings, but they were no match for No. 7 Jersey City State in last night's 97-83 loss at the Maggs Center. Jersey City State (27-3), which won its 20th straight, moves on to next weekend's Final Four in Springfield, Ohio.Salisbury State (28-2), which had a 27-game win streak brushed away, saw an end come to the Andre Foreman era and the best season in school history.

SALISBURY -- Down 14 points with nine minutes remaining, an ordinary team might have folded.As coach Ward Lambert has known all year, however, his Salisbury State program did not turn out just another Division III -- pretender this winter. The nation's second-ranked team lived up to its advance notice in its NCAA tournament opener, as the Sea Gulls made up that big deficit in three minutes and then dominated an anticlimactic overtime to post a 107-99 victory over Kean (N.J.) College in the Atlantic Region.

SALISBURY -- Salisbury State completed its first undefeated regular season and ended a 12-game losing streak against rival Washington College yesterday with a 20-4 lacrosse victory.The rout of the Shoremen -- playing without 10 players suspended before the season for drinking -- should keep Salisbury (13-0) in the No. 1 spot in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division III poll. The victory also should guarantee that the Sea Gulls will have the home-field advantage throughout the Division III playoffs.

Salisbury rolled up 402 total yards, all on the ground, in routing Frostburg State, 42-15, in yesterday's Regents Cup football game at Johnny Unitas Stadium. It was the Sea Gulls' third straight cup victory, and they lead the series 18-16. The two teams gained 723 yards in total offense. The lead rusher for the Sea Gulls (5-5, 2-2 Atlantic Central Football Conference) was sophomore quarterback Ronnie Curley, who carried the ball 14 times for 178 yards and one touchdown. Frostburg quarterback Andre Dixon passed for 154 yards and ran for 42 yards.

Dan Stroka and David Maguire scored four goals apiece to lift No. 4 Ohio Wesleyan to a 13-10 win over No. 2 Salisbury State in a Division III men's lacrosse game in Salisbury yesterday.The loss ended the Sea Gulls' NCAA-record 65-game regular-season winning streak, which dates almost five years to the day. Salisbury's last defeat was on March 8, 1992, when it fell to Roanoke, 15-10, in Baltimore.The Battling Bishops (1-0) rallied from a four-goal deficit by outscoring Salisbury 9-2 in the second half, including 6-1 in the third quarter.

SALISBURY -- The visitors' locker room at Sea Gull Stadium hasn't been a festive place in recent years following a Salisbury State lacrosse game, but it was the place to be yesterday after No. 6 Washington College stunned the top-ranked Sea Gulls, 11-10, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.Washington College stopped Salisbury State's winning streak at 47 games and ended the Sea Gulls' bid for a third consecutive national title before a crowd of 933. The Shoremen will advance to next Sunday's national championship game at College Park, where they will face the winner of today's matchup between Ohio Wesleyan and Nazareth.

Dan Boyer can sense it every time he and the Salisbury lacrosse team takes the field with the longest winning streak in college sports on the line. "There's definitely a lot of teams out there that would love to see us lose," said the senior attackman from Mount St. Joseph whose 66 goals and seven assists lead the Sea Gulls (20-0, 69 in a row). "A lot of teams just every week, or even people, just look at the score and hope that we lose. These are just people who follow lacrosse. Everybody loves to see the underdog come through and beat the champion."