SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University men's lacrosse program fell 12-11 in overtime against the Rochester Institute of Technology in NCAA Tournament Third Round action inside Sea Gull Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (17-4) struck first to open the contest before
Ryan Della got the Sea Gulls (17-4) on the board off an assist by
Riley Strub. After two more goals from RIT,
Preston Huffman posted his first tally of the game, bringing the deficit back to just one goal. The Tigers would add another and take a 4-2 advantage into the second quarter of play. The Tigers outshot the Sea Gulls 12-10 in the opening slate of play.
Salisbury tallied four straight goals to open the second quarter, with Strub finding the back of the net three different times and
Blake Malamphy scoring after a face-off win. The 4-0 scoring run in the opening three minutes of the quarter forced the Tigers to call a timeout. RIT was able to halt the SU run with back-to-back goals, tying the game 6-6 with 10 minutes remaining before halftime. After the scoring barrage to open the quarter, both offenses went quiet until
Cooper Keesee put the Sea Gulls back in front with the long pole just over two minutes before halftime. Salisbury led 7-6 at the halftime break and had a slight edge in shots with 22 compared to 19 for RIT.
After RIT was able to tie the game to open the third quarter, Huffman pushed the Sea Gulls back in front.
Bret Bergey tallied a man-up goal to extend the SU lead just after the midway point of the quarter. After the lowest scoring frame of the game, the Sea Gulls took a 9-7 advantage heading into the final quarter of action. SU tallied a 35-27 advantage on shots through three quarters.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, cutting the Sea Gull's lead to just one with 11 minutes remaining in the contest. RIT kept that momentum rolling with a man-up goal to tie the game just one minute later. The game was tied 9-9 with nine minutes remaining.
SU would respond quickly with a goal from Della off an assist from Strub just 30 seconds later. That lead did not last long for SU, as RIT tied the game 10-10 with just under seven minutes remaining. Two minutes later, the Tigers earned their first lead since early in the second quarter of action. With one minute and 12 seconds remaining in the contest, Huffman tied the game for the Sea Gulls unassisted.
RIT earned the final possession of the contest, but two game-saving saves from SU goalie
Matt Sentowski sent the game into overtime. Salisbury won the opening face-off in overtime, but could not convert. The Tigers came out of a timeout and scored the game-winning goal to earn the upset.
GAME NOTES
- Riley Strub led the Gulls with five points on three goals and two helpers. Strub wraps up his career with 225 points in 73 games played.
- Preston Huffman struck for three goals and an apple.
- Ryan Della stuck two of his nine attempts on the evening.
- Cooper Keesee delivered his second goal of the season.
- Joe Buxbaum caused a pair of turnovers and chased down a grounder.
- Blake Malamphy put together another phenomenal day at the dot, going 20-for-25 on the night with a goal and 14 ground balls. Malamphy finishes sixth in DIII men's lacrosse history with 1085 face-off wins and 712 ground balls.
- Matt Sentowski made 12 stops in the cage. Sentowski made 30 saves, allowing 24 goals in the postseason.
The Sea Gulls cap off the year 17-4. The SU senior class of 2026 earned a national championship in 2023, recorded two undefeated regular seasons and won four conference championships.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
