SALISBURY, Md. – The second-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse overpowered the Illinois Wesleyan Titans, 30-5, in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday to advance to Sunday's national semifinal game. Salisbury's 30 goals set a program record and ranks second in Division III history in goals in scored a quarterfinal game.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury came out the gates rolling. The Sea Gulls blanked the Titans, 11-0, in the first quarter to take the early lead.
• The Sea Gulls continued to flex their might with five unanswered goals to open the second quarter by Jarrett Bromwell, Brett Malamphy, Luke Harbottle, Logan Posner and Cross Ferrara. 
• Rick Smith added the Illinois Wesleyan's first goal on the day with four minutes left on the clock in the half.
• In the final four minutes of the second quarter, Salisbury tacked on another four goals, including Ham McPartland's first career goal, to extend its lead to 20-1 at the half.
• The two teams took turns notching goals up until the final two minutes of the third quarter when a goal from Charlie White sparked a three-goal run to close out the quarter with a 25-3 lead over Illinois Wesleyan.
• The final quarter opened with a four-goal flurry, including a man-down goal from Zachary Timmons sandwiched in between two Isaac Thrasher tallies. 
• Ryan Brown's goal with 3:35 left in the game was the final SU goal of the day. Illinois Wesleyan added two in the late goings to bring the score to its final margin, 30-5.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Cross Ferrara led the Sea Gulls with seven points off of four goals and three assists.
• Griffin Moroney, Isaac Thrasher, Josh Melton and Logan Posner all scored a hat trick in the contest. 
• Pierre Armstrong earned five assists on the day. Melton collected three assists while Quinton Young handed out a pair of assists on his own.
• Eoghan Sweeney scooped up a game-high nine ground balls after going 10-of-14 in the circle. Malamphy and McPartland each scooped up five.
• Matt O'Callaghan grabbed three rollers. Joe Saulino, John DeFazio, Noah Kness, Zachary Timmons, Melton, Moroney and Brown each grabbed two ground balls.
• Kevin Murphy and Timmons each caused a pair of turnovers for the Titans.
• T.J. Ellis stopped six shots and scooped up a ground bal.
• It is the 13th time and fifth consecutive game that the Salisbury defense held a team to single digits in goals.

ILLINOIS WESLEYAN GAME NOTES

• Nick Ceko, Trystan Seeley, Tanner Nelson, Rick Smith and Jaxon Hendrickson all tallied a goal for the Titans.
• Max Bousky grabbed a team-high eight ground balls, Will Harris grabbed four rollers in the contest.
• In net, Harris saved 13 shots.

UP NEXT

• With the victory, the Sea Gulls move on to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament
• Salisbury will match up against Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference rival, Christopher Newport, on Sunday, May 23 at Sea Gull Stadium.
• The game is set for a 2 p.m. start with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network starting at 1:45 p.m.