SALISBURY, Md. - The second-seeded and third-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team is set to travel to top-seeded and top-ranked Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) rival Christopher Newport for the C2C Tournament Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.
THE RUNDOWN
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
C2C MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE
HOW WE GOT HERE
- Salisbury finished the regular season with a 16-1 record, going 1-1 in C2C play. The Sea Gulls defeated Mary Washington, 22-5, in the C2C semifinals on Tuesday to advance to Saturday's championship.
- Salisbury is 4-1 on the road this season.
- The Sea Gulls finished the regular season with a top-20 scoring offense in NCAA Division III, scoring 17 goals per game.
- Salisbury is led by C2C Player of the Year Cross Ferrara, who leads the league in points (96) and goals (74). He finished the regular season sixth in Division III in goals per game with a 4.25 average.
- On defense, the Sea Gulls are paced by First-Team All-C2C selection John DeFazio, who led the Sea Gulls with 28 caused turnovers. DeFazio finished second on the team in ground balls with 64.
- In net for the Sea Gulls, All-C2C Honorable Mention pick Z.J. Shahin has been a brick wall with the best goals-against average (6.99) in the C2C.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
- Christopher Newport enters the C2C Tournament with an 16-0 record with a 2-0 record in C2C play. The Captains earned a first-round bye as top seed.
- The Captains finished the regular season with a 10-0 record at home.
- Four out of six of the Captains' wins over top-20 teams were decided by 10 or more goals.
- The Captains have the second-best offense in Division III, scoring 19.56 goals per game.
- CNU finished the regular season 10th nationally in scoring defense with only 7.31 goals allowed per game.
SCOUTING THE CAPTAINS
- The Captains' offense is led by C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year Dylan Rice, who tallied 90 points on 60 goals and 30 assists. Rice finished second in the C2C in points and goals behind Ferrara.
- First-Team All-C2C midfielder Coby Auslander led the C2C with 41 assists on the season.
- First-Team All-C2C midfielder Andrew Cook finished fifth in the C2C with 44 goals.
- All-C2C Honorable Mention Drew Miller ranked fourth in the C2C with 33 assists.
- At the X, the C2C Rookie of the Year Warner Cabaniss led the Captains with 179 faceoff wins and 104 ground balls.
- On defense, the Captains are led by C2C Defensive Player of the Year Max Wayne, who finished the season with 43 caused turnovers.
- First-Team All-C2C defender Phoenix Hines is another key piece of the nation's 10th-ranked scoring defense with a team-high 47 caused turnovers.
- In net, First-Team All-C2C selection Zac Hanway started all 16 games with a 7.57 goals-against average and 131 saves.
THIS SEASON AGAINST CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT
April 16 at CNU – Christopher Newport 17, Salisbury 7
- Jack Dowd led the Sea Gulls' offense with a goal and two assists.
- Jarrett Bromwell and Logan Posner each tallied a goal and an assist.
- John DeFazio led the Sea Gulls defense with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
- Ham McPartland went 8-24 in faceoffs and picked up three ground balls.
- Z.J. Shahin started in net for the Sea Gulls and made a career-high 15 saves. Nicholas Ransom earned time in net and picked up one save.
- Andrew Cook, Alex Brendes and Coby Auslander each tallied four points to lead the Captains' attack.
- Dylan Rice scored in a hat trick.
- Max Wayne, Phoenix Hines and Aiden Wheeler each caused two turnovers.
- Zac Hanway earned the win in net with eight saves. Andrew Clark saw time in goal and recorded two saves.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.
To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.
