Seahawks

When Mount St. Mary's secured a 10-9 upset of Northeast Conference leader Bryant last Saturday, coach Tom Gravante was gratified to see the team play with the kind of intensity, concentration and decision making he thought would be absent after the players learned that they were eliminated from contention for a spot in the four-team conference tournament. But the Mountaineers' effort left Gravante wondering what might have been if they had played that well in conference losses to Sacred Heart (14-5 on March 30)

Dropping a 9-8 decision to Capital Athletic Conference foe York cost St. Mary's the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. But that may not be such a bad thing. Wednesday's first-round game against Wesley at Seahawk Stadium in St. Mary's City gives the team an opportunity to erase the memory of that setback to the Spartans, who leapfrogged over the Seahawks for the No. 2 seed and the bye. And the team gets to play one more game in a familiar setting. “We're home, which is great,” coach Chris Hasbrouck said Tuesday.

Chris Hasbrouck is not happy that St. Mary's dropped its regular-season finale to Capital Athletic Conference rival York last Saturday, and the coach wants to see his players show a little emotion when they meet Wesley in the first round of the conference tournament this Wednesday at Seahawk Stadium in St. Mary's City. “We need to go in there with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Hasbrouck said Tuesday morning. “They knew that for a lot of reasons, we let a great opportunity slip by. I think we play better when we feel like there's more at stake.

St. Mary's is in the midst of one of the program's best seasons since Chris Hasbrouck became the head coach prior to the 2009 campaign, and one of the key factors has been the team's success in one-goal games. The Seahawks (9-5 overall and 4-1 in the Capital Athletic Conference) are 3-1 in one-goal decisions in 2013. The last time the team thrived this well in one-goal games was Hasbrouck's debut year when that squad also went 3-1. In the three years between 2009 and 2013, St. Mary's compiled a combined record of 2-3 in one-goal decisions.

The disappointment of St. Mary's 15-4 loss to No. 5 Salisbury, the reigning Division III national champion, last Saturday has given way to the excitement surrounding the team's upcoming home contest against Capital Athletic Conference foe York this Saturday. The Seahawks (9-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference) are battling the Spartans (12-3, 4-1) for the No. 2 seed in the CAC tournament, which begins next Wednesday. A victory would give either side a first-round bye in the six-team field and at least one home game.

Things did not look appealing for St. Mary's when the team opened March with three losses in four contests to fall to 2-4. Since then, however, the program has strung together seven consecutive wins - a run it hasn't enjoyed since 2006. The Seahawks are 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference, but coach Chris Hasbrouck did his best to downplay any fervor as they prepare for No. 6 Salisbury (12-3, 5-0) this Saturday and York (11-3, 3-1) next Saturday. “We've just been plugging away,” he said Thursday morning.

Major League Soccer D.C. United renews contract with Comcast SportsNet D.C. United has reached a long-awaited - and long-term - agreement with Comcast SportsNet, but coverage will not begin until May 8 and no matches are currently on the outlet's schedule after Sept. 15. The three-year deal calls for at least 16matches annually. Every other U.S.-based Major League Soccer club, except Chivas USA, will have 21 or more games on local channels this season. More United: Captain Dwayne De Rosario will miss tonight's match at Sporting Kansas City with an adductor strain.

Taylor Cook and Nate Babcock may not be St. Mary's most dangerous midfielders, but they are the team's most athletic. And the Seahawks have enjoyed a three-game winning streak despite the pair's absence. Coach Chris Hasbrouck said Babcock, a sophomore, has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms. The Baltimore and Severn native recorded six goals and two assists in six games, but the concussion-like symptoms raised a red flag. “In today's day and age, you have to be careful with a concussion,” Hasbrouck said.

St. Mary's three-game winning streak has relied on standout play from a pair on opposing ends of the field. Junior Ben Love has scored a career-best five goals in each of the team's last two contests. The Owings Mills native and McDonogh graduate leads the offense in goals with 16, and 11 of those have occurred during the Seahawks' three-game run when Love made the switch from midfield to attack. “We were having some issues with turnovers, and we had some injuries in the middle of the field,” coach Chris Hasbrouck said Wednesday morning.

St. Mary's squandered a 10-point lead Friday and lost, 69-66, to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the NCAA Division III men's basketball quarterfinals in Salem, Va. The 11th-seeded Seahawks, who finished their season 27-4, setting a school record for victories, fell in the Elite Eight for the second time in the past three years. Senior guard James Davenport (Loyola) led St. Mary's with 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Sophomore guard Nick LaGuerre (Lansdowne) and first-year forward Troy Spurrier (Glenelg)