FOTOJOE PHOTOGRAPHY INC./Hannah Reagle

2025 Men's Lacrosse Season Preview

By Nick Lewis

1/31/2025 9:48:00 AM

Men's Lacrosse March Out, 4-2-24 vs. Stockton

2024 Season Recap

The 13-time national champion Salisbury University men's lacrosse team recorded the 15th unbeaten regular season in program history in 2024, taking the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) crown for the second straight season and reaching a 33rd consecutive national quarterfinal. The Sea Gulls finished with a 21-1 overall record and an unblemished 5-0 mark in CLC play to continue their streak of standing among Division III's final eight teams every season since 1990. The Sea Gulls breezed through the CLC bracket, logging a 25-5 win over Kean before a 14-7 triumph over rival CNU secured the automatic bid to the Big Dance. Following the bye, SU overcame Saint Joseph (Conn.) in the Second Round (27-8) and Swarthmore in the Third (18-7) before falling in overtime to Washington & Lee in the quarterfinal. The squad was honored with 10 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse All-Americans and John DeFazio was tabbed the Iroquois National Outstanding Player of the Year while Jack Dowd was honored as the Fran Mcall Outstanding Midfielder of the Year.

MLAX Group Pic vs. Montclair St., 4-20-24

Leaving a Legacy

Before graduating last spring, graduate attackman Jude Brown became Division III's all-time assists king in the second round of the 2024 dance against Saint Joseph (Conn.), finding Chris Wong in the second quarter for his 276th career helper to surpass 24-year record holder Will Van Dorn (Kean/Montclair State, 1997-2000). The duo of Brown and Wong was not done making history in the tournament, with the former finding the latter the very next night as Brown surpassed former teammate, current PLL talent, and member of SU's retired jersey club Cross Ferrara '23 for second all-time in Division III in career points (475).

2025 Season Preview

Preseason Rankings

2025 Players to Watch

Riley Strub | Jr. | A

Brice Bromwell | Sr. | M

John DeFazio | Gr. | D

ATTACK
MIDFIELD
POLES
GOALKEEPER

Riley Strub - Strub excelled in his first season of full-time attack duty, leading the squad with 41 goals through 14 games before being sidelined due to injury. The former midfielder scored at least two goals in every game he played in, collecting seven hat-tricks and notching a mammoth seven goals on 11 shots against Stockton on April 2nd. He shared second on the squad in man-up strikes (six) with Luke Nestor and caused 11 turnovers, the most of any short-stick player on the squad despite missing eight games.
Ty Keaton - Keaton shifted to the starting attack in March, providing a much-needed scoring surge. The Fort Mill, S.C. native ranked fourth on the ‘24 team with 43 goals, 40 of which came after March 13th. Keaton logged six hat-tricks and one three-assist outing (3/30 at Kean), producing a pair of six-goal efforts against Catholic (3/27) and Cabrini (4/26). Keaton's 42.2 percent shooting clip served as the second-best among qualified players in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference and slotted 69th nationally.
Chris Wong - Wong, a transfer from Division I Johns Hopkins, entered the starting lineup in April and supplied Salisbury with immediate impact. He scored two or more goals in every game after April 19th, including a pair of four-goal efforts against Montclair State (4/20) and Kean (5/1). Wong finished with five hat-tricks, two of which came in the NCAA Tournament against Saint Joseph (5/11) and Swarthmore (5/12).

Brice Bromwell - Bromwell continued to elevate his game in 2024, tallying career-highs in goals (54), assists (31), points (85), shot-on-goal percentage (.633), man-up goals (five), and ground-balls (30). He tallied 10 hat-tricks and three three-assist efforts while scoring in 21 of 22 appearances. He finished inside the top 10 individually in the CLC in goals per game (2.45), assists per game (1.41), and points per game (3.86). Bromwell eclipsed five goals on four occasions, including the NCAA Third Round vs. Swarthmore, while scoring a season-high six at Cabrini on April 26th. The Cambridge-South Dorchester product received All-American praise from USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine while landing on a pair of national teams of the week. He enters the '25 campaign as the active leader in career goals (125), assists (55), and points (180).
Blake Malamphy - Malamphy headlined the FOGO room a season ago, winning 63.9 percent (267-of-418) of his tries while securing a career-high and team-leading 188 ground balls, scoring seven goals and dishing out two assists, and causing 10 turnovers. Malamphy's ground ball clip of 9.4 per game ranked 24th across Division III, while his faceoff percentage led the CLC and slotted 28th in the nation.
Simba Makawa - Makawa finished the '24 season with career marks in both ground balls (32) and caused turnovers (8) among a loaded room of short-stick defensive midfielders. He netted his fourth career goal at Scranton on Feb. 17th in one of five games where he would pounce on three or more grounders. Makawa locked down a career-high five grounders while causing two miscues against Stockton on April 2nd.

John DeFazio - DeFazio, the reigning USILA Iroquois National Outstanding Player of the Year, proved his mettle as one of the nation's best in 2024. The standout LSM-turned-defenseman chased down 99 ground balls and caused 54 turnovers in '24 while scoring his seventh career goal and dishing out six assists. He finished second in the CLC in caused turnovers per game (2.45) while slotting seventh in ground balls per game (4.5). He earned First-Team All-American laurels from USILA, IMLCA, and USA Lacrosse Magazine in his penultimate campaign donning the maroon and gold. The fifth-year product of Mountain Lakes enters the season with 345 career ground balls and 167 caused turnovers, tacking on seven goals and 19 assists for 26 career points.
Jeremiah Stafford - Stafford earned All-American accolades from USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine in his sophomore campaign, filling DeFazio's shoes admirably as the primary long-stick midfielder. He ranked second on the '24 squad with 35 caused turnovers while scooping 37 ground balls, scoring against Cabrini (4/26) and Kean (5/1) in back-to-back contests and recording his first career assist in the national quarterfinal vs. W&L. He surpassed three grounders in six games while forcing three or more turnovers in four contests. He played a critical role in the 56th installment of the “War on the Shore” against Washington (Md.), causing five turnovers and scooping a pair of ground balls in the 12-7 win.
Bryce Stevenson - Stevenson played stellar close defense for the Sea Gulls last year, ranking third on the squad in caused turnovers (34) and fourth in ground balls (48). The Severna Park product finished eight games with three or more ground balls and six contests with at least three caused turnovers. Stevenson dominated from March 27th on, averaging 2.7 ground balls and 1.9 caused turnovers across the final 14 games. Stevenson was named to the All-CLC Second Team following the regular season.

Nicholas Ransom - Ransom started all 22 games and asserted himself as a top net-minder in Division III in '24, taking the throne in goals-against average across all three NCAA divisions (7.06) while leading the CLC and ranking 51st nationally in save percentage (.554). He topped double-digit saves on five occasions, turning away 154 total shots and soaring beyond the 300-career-save milestone. He also scooped 37 ground balls and caused four turnovers during the campaign. Ransom earned USILA Scholar All-American laurels while being named an Honorable Mention All-American by USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Connor Herraiz (Jr. A | Succasunna, N.J.) - Herraiz trades in the Cavalier blue and black for Salisbury's maroon and gold, joining the Sea Gulls for his junior season. Herraiz was an offensive force for Cabrini in his first two collegiate seasons, posting 43 goals and 55 assists as a freshman before logging 101 points on 64 goals and 37 assists in his sophomore campaign. Villanova University officially assumed ownership of Cabrini University's campus in Radnor, Pa. on June 28, 2024.
Trent Lucovich (So. A | West Grove, Pa.) - Lucovich lands in the nest after appearing in one game in his freshman season at Division I St. John's (N.Y.). Lucovich was a highly-touted talent out of Avon Grove High School where he tallied 62 goals and 32 assists in 2023, collected 177 career points, broke the school single-game goals record (8), and was named Team Offensive MVP, First Team All-Area and First Team All-Ches Mont League.
Bret Bergey (So. M | Downingtown, Pa.) - Bergey joins SU after one season at High Point where he did not appear. Dedicated fans of Salisbury Lacrosse will recognize the “Bergey” family name, as Bret's father Jake Bergey resides in the Salisbury Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2007 class. Jake was a two-time national champion with Salisbury (1994-95) as well as a three-time First-Team All-American (1995-97) and the 1995 National Midfielder of the Year.

Seamus Johnston (Gr. D | Duxbury, Mass.) - Johnston joins the flock after logging four seasons of close defense for the Bantams of Trinity College (Conn.), where he appeared in 49 games and made 44 starts. Johnston racked up 54 ground balls and caused 29 miscues across his four seasons while recording assists in his junior and senior campaigns.
Joe Buxbaum (Jr. LSM | Ocean City, Md.) - Buxbaum joins the Sea Gulls after two seasons with Division II Florida Southern. Buxbaum appeared in 22 games and made nine starts at close defense, impressing in his sophomore season with 40 ground balls, 27 caused turnovers and a pair of assists in 17 games.
Andrew Roe (So. DM | Scottsdale, Ariz.) - Roe arrives in Salisbury after playing his freshman season at Division I Lindenwood, appearing in 11 games and scooping three grounders while putting his lone shot of the season on target. A long-time contender at the Division II level, Lindenwood's men's lacrosse program was discontinued following the 2024 season.
Connor Fritz (So. LSM | Harrisburg, Pa.) - Fritz joins the fray after playing his freshman season at Randolph-Macon College. Fritz appeared in 19 games for the Yellow Jackets last season, chasing down 29 ground balls and causing five turnovers while also notching his first career goal and assist.
William Maag (So. D | Burke, Va.) - An imposing close defenseman at 6'5", 220, Maag found his way to Salisbury after one season at Harford Community College. Maag appeared in 13 games with 12 starts for the Fighting Owls, securing 43 ground balls and causing 24 turnovers while logging one assist.

Head Coach Jim Berkman

We have to continue to get better... there's definitely some talent there that can get to the goal and score, and now we've got to harness it and manage it a little bit better than we have in the past. If we do a good job and everybody buys into their roles at different times, there's a great deal of potential to score a lot of goals.

Head Coach Jim Berkman on returning to the National Championship in 2025

2025 Schedule

Protecting The House

The Sea Gulls will play their second game of the 2025 campaign at the brand-new Under Armour Global Headquarters Campus in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 8th. SU will take on Grove City at “The House” with free admission for all fans. Tailgating is strictly prohibited. The game will be broadcast live on Delmarva Sports Network. This comes after Salisbury University's official department-wide partnership with Under Armour was officially announced in August.

Under Armour, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, is a leading inventor, marketer and distributor of branded athletic performance apparel, footwear and accessories. Designed to empower human performance, Under Armour's innovative products and experiences are engineered to make athletes better. For more information, visit https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/.

2025 Roster