SALISBURY Md. – The No. 2 Salisbury University men's lacrosse team opened up Capital Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium and took down St. Mary's College of Maryland with a 24-7 final.

Salisbury got to work fast in the first quarter, scoring three times in the first five minutes. Preston Dabbs notched the first of the game and his first of the season off an Andrew Ternahan caused turnover that Dabbs took down the middle and buried.

St. Mary's (Md.) stopped the Gulls' hot start with a Nicholas Wilkinson tally, but Salisbury responded with three more in the opening quarter, highlighted by a Jake Rotman rip that hit high up on the right post then found twine.

In the second quarter, the Salisbury attack asserted its dominance, accounting for five of the six tallies Salisbury scored in the period. On the day, Nathan Blondino led the team in points with seven (three goals and four assists), and Brady Dashiell was next with six points (five goals and one assist). Carson Kalama notched four points on three goals and one assist, while scooping up five grounballs.

With a 12-3 lead at halftime, and having totaled four saves, Joshua Dean was replaced in net by Anthony Stavrakis. Dean would be credited with the victory for his 30 minutes of play.

Salisbury started off the second half with nine-straight goals in an eight-minute span. Davis Anderson was credited with his first of the season, as was Troy Miller, who later notched his second on a low-to-low shot that found the net just inside the right post. Capping the streak for Salisbury was a Dashiell goal that caused some confusion on the field as his shot ripped the netting and was not initially called a goal, until inspection of the net.

The fourth quarter saw Salisbury get outscored 3-2 to finish the game at 24-7. Freshman Tyler Snyder came away with his first-career goal, finding the top shelf with a deep shot off a Chris Joyce feed.

Other Gulls to get multiple points on the day were Thomas Cirillo (one goal and three assists), Christian Ottenritter (two assists), Garrett Reynolds (two goals and one assist), Brendan Bromwell (one goal and two assists), and James Burton (two goals and two assists).

Will Nowesnick had a remarkable outing, as the sophomore caused five turnovers and scooped up five groundballs. Pax Howard had a similar line, going for four caused turnover and three groundballs in the win.

Duncan Campbell once again led the team in groundballs, scooping up seven while going 12-for-19 on faceoffs. Brooks Eibner and T.J. Logue each got chances at the X as well, highlighted by Eibner's 5-for-9 showing.

In the fourth quarter, freshmen keepers Hayden Donnelly and Justin Bacon both got their first minutes between the pipes while wearing the maroon and gold. Each recorded multiple saves in their debut.

The Gulls are back in action on Wednesday, March 16 with the annual Charles B. Clark Cup, "War on the Shore", contest against Washington (Md.) College. That game is set for 7 p.m., at Sea Gull Stadium.