HAVERFORD, Pa. – It was exactly the type of game you'd expect played between two of the top-five ranked teams in the country. In a fast-paced, back-and-forth battle between the No. 4-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team and the No. 5-ranked Cortland State Red Dragons, played on neutral turf on Wednesday afternoon, the Sea Gulls showed why they are one of the best teams in the country as they took the Red Dragons down 12-11 in a last-minute thriller. 

Salisbury (5-0) knew that it would have to bring its “A” game to the field, as Cortland's first loss of the season came at the hands of then No. 3-ranked Gettysburg College this past Saturday and the Red Dragons (1-2), the reigning NCAA national champions, were hungry for a big win. They wouldn't get that victory against the Sea Gulls, though, as Salisbury came back from a one-goal halftime deficit to remain undefeated. Salisbury's game-winning goal came with just 3:13 left to play in the game, as junior midfielder Shawn Zordani (Littleton, Colo.) ripped a shot that found the back of the net off of a Sam Bradman (Canton, N.Y.) assist. Bradman, a sophomore midfielder, also had a big hand in the maroon and gold's victory as he collected six points on four goals and two assists.

The maroon and gold opened up scoring with a Bradman goal, followed by a score by senior midfielder Mike Von Kamecke (Winter Park, Fla.) that found its way past Red Dragon goalkeeper Mike Kaminski (nine saves). Two goals was the largest lead the Sea Gulls would have throughout the day, later leading 10-8 in the third quarter, as the Red Dragons answered back nearly every Salisbury goal with a goal of their own. The highly-physical game was relatively evenly matched as both Salisbury and Cortland took 35 shots, but junior goalkeeper Johnny Rodriguez (Gambrills, Md.) played a key role in the Sea Gulls' win as he notched 14 saves compared to Kaminski's nine.

The last time Salisbury and Cortland met was back on May 25, 2008 in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse national championship game. Before a crowd of 24,317 spectators, the Sea Gulls took down the Red Dragons, 19-13, for the program's eighth title.

The Sea Gulls will now play four-straight home contests, starting with Ohio Wesleyan University on March 13 at 1 p.m. After that string of games, the maroon and gold will hit the road to square off against No. 1 Gettysburg College on March 27 in what is sure to be a thrilling match-up. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.