2026 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Second & Third Round Preview

By Andrew Barbieri

5/7/2026 2:00:00 PM

The Rundown

The sixth-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team starts up their quest for a record-setting 14th Division III National Championship on Saturday, May 9 against the No. 25 Roanoke College Maroons in the NCAA Tournament's second round. The game is set for a 3:00 p.m. start at Sea Gull Stadium, with another second-round matchup between 11th-ranked RIT and 23rd-ranked Elmhurst to follow at 6:00 p.m. The winners of Saturday's bouts clash on Sunday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m. inside Sea Gull Stadium with a spot in the national quarterfinal on the line.

How We Got Here

Sixth-ranked Salisbury enters the dance 16-3 so far. The Sea Gulls picked up top-10 victories early in the season against No. 10 Gettysburg, 15-12 and York (Pa.), 10-7, before making quick work of Stockton in the CLC Semifinals and pulling off a 9-3 comeback to take down No. 4 CNU, 10-9 in overtime on Sunday in the CLC Championship. SU has totaled eight wins against team in the bracket.

CLC Champions

The Sea Gulls got May started with a bang, winning the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Championship, thus receiving the CLC's automatic qualifier into the 2026 NCAA DIII Tournament. After soaring past the Ospreys, 18-5, The Gulls traveled down to Newport News, Va., and fell behind at halftime 9-3 after No. 4 Christopher Newport went on a 7-0 run in the second frame. SU roared back by not allowing a goal in ladder half and forced free lacrosse with six unanswered tallies. Preston Huffman potted the extra time winner one minute and 42 seconds into the fifth period to give the Maroon and Gold their 28th conference title in program history.

Live Video (All Games)

Live Stats (All Games)

Saturday Tickets (Both Games)

Sunday Tickets

Parking Information

Major CLC Awards

Blake Malamphy - CLC Player of the Year

Connor Herraiz - CLC Offensive Player of the Year

All-Conference Honorees

Players to Watch

Connor Herraiz | Sr. | A

Riley Strub | Sr. | M

Blake Malamphy | Sr. | FO

Offense
Midfield
Defense

Connor Herraiz - Herraiz will enter the weekend at 101 points (33 G, 68 A), good enough to tie his career-high single-season mark he set at Cabrini in 2024. The attackman has flexed his facilitating skills, averaging 3.58 assists per game, ranking fifth in Division III.
Ryan Della - Della has spent time coming out of the box and at attack this year, recording 32 scores and four apples in 17 games played in 2026. Della remains one of the top man-up options with four man-up goals and has picked up hat-tricks in five contests, including a five-goal game in the CLC semis against Stockton.
Bret Bergey - Bergey has blossomed since being inserted into the starting lineup. The son of legendary SU Athletics Hall of Famer Jake Bergey has logged 31 points in eights starts, headlined by a five-goal outing on Sunday, where the junior tied the game with less than 30 seconds to play.

Riley Strub - Strub has remained a lethal offensive weapon out of the midfield, tallying 45 goals and 26 assists. Strub started his postseason with six points against Stockton and followed that outing with three goals and two assists against CNU.
Preston Huffman - Sunday's overtime hero has risen to the top line midfield unit in his second year with the Gulls. The Calvert Hall product tallied 27 goals and 23 helpers in 19 games played, to go along with 32 ground balls.
Trent Lucovich - Lucovich is the third leading scorer on the team with 40 goals and 12 assists in 19 games played. The junior averaged 5.5 points per game over a four-game stretch where he started at attack for the Maroon and Gold. The St. John's transfer sparked the Sea Gulls with five straight goals against Trinity (Conn.) to defeat the Bantams, 11-5.
Brady Mancha - Mancha has served as one of SU's top short-stick defensive midfielders this season, logging eight ground balls and adding in three caused turnovers while adding two assists across 19 outings. The Parkside High School product serves as one of the squad's four captains.
Evan Huffman - Huffman has complemented Mancha at SSDM, making starts in four of his 19 appearances, with one assist, 19 ground balls and ten caused errors. Huffman was a pest against Christopher Newport by forcing three Captains miscues and controlling two grounders on April 18.
Blake Malamphy - Malamphy has put together the most dominant campaign from a Sea Gull FOGO in program history with a 75.2 percent (312-415) win rate on draws and a career-high 225 ground balls in 19 games played. Number 45 has added eight goals and two helpers and surpassed 1000 career face-off wins after going 22-of-23 against Christopher Newport on April 18.

Jeremiah Stafford - Stafford has consistently pillared the SU defense, causing 25 turnovers and picking up 31 ground balls. Stafford tucked a full-field goal against Gettysburg and recorded a season-high five caused turnovers against Washington (Md.) in the War on the Shore to aid the Sea Gulls to a 6-4 victory.
Bryce Stevenson - Stevenson has led the squad in caused turnovers (33). Stevenson buried four goals and dished out two dimes, while logging ten games with multiple CTs en route to passing the century mark in caused turnovers in his career.
Cooper Keesee - Keesee has made an immediate impact after coming by way of DI Drexel in Philadelphia. The lefty long pole burned Gettysburg's ten-man ride to score his first collegiate goal and dished out an assist against Baldwin Wallace while securing 33 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.
Joe Buxbaum - Buxbaum has been a steady force, showing flexibility at close defense and long-stick midfielder. The Florida Southern transfer registered a two-point game against Grove City on February 6, and cleaned up 20 grounders and forced 13 turnovers.
Matt Sentowski - Sentowski fortified the crease, starting in 18 games, posting a sub-eight GAA, with a 52.7 percent save percentage. The Mountain Lakes High School product ranks 13th in the country in goals against average and made 18 saves to just 12 goals allowed in the past two games.

14-5 (8-2 ODAC) in 2026
Earned final at-large bid into field.
Powered past Marymount (Va.), 22-7, in NCAA First Round to advance to the weekend.
29th appearance in program's history.
Offensive Player to Watch - #23 Julian Kammerman: The senior has appeared in every game but one (75) since joining the Maroons. The senior boasts 238 career points and a career-best 50 goals in 2026, 16 more than last year. Kammerman racked up seven points on Wednesday and played his first collegiate contest at Sea Gull Stadium on February 11, 2023.
Defensive Player to Watch - #32 Ike Dutton: Dutton, now in his sophomore campaign has made an immediate impact for the Maroons since stepping on campus. The Worcester, Mass. product has recorded 105 ground balls and 54 caused turnovers in 35 career games played.
Faceoff - #31 TJ Harris: Harris leads the FOGO room, going 135-281 for a 48.0 percent face-off percentage. Harris teams up with freshman Wes Schmidt to make up the majority of RC's draws taken.
Goalkeeper - #1 Alex Feuer: Feuer posted an 18-save game against Virginia Wesleyan in the ODAC quarterfinals and made six saves vs. Marymount (Va.) in the first 30 minutes of Wednesday's affair. The senior has stood in cage for 305 minutes and has made 60 saves compared to 28 goals conceeded.
Goalkeeper - #52 David Hamilton: Hamilton has made the most starts in the crease for the Maroons (12). The freshman from Basking Ridge, NJ touts an 8.34 GAA and 54.4 percent save percentage.

15-4 (5-2 Liberty League) in 2026
two-time NCAA Champions (2021, 2022)
Handled Union, 17-7, to win 13th Liberty League title.
16th-straight NCAA Tournament berth, 27th in program history.
Ranked Wins: #7 Gettysburg, #13 W&L, #14 St. John Fisher and #16 St. Lawrence
Ranked Losses: #3 Babson, #12 Wesleyan, #16 St. Lawrence and #18 Ithaca
Offensive Player to Watch - #9 Erich Acton: The LL Offensive Player of the Year filled in big shoes of a star-studded senior class that departed the Tigers. The Ontario, Canada native jumped from 17 points in 2025 to 73 points this season, including 44 goals on 93 shots taken.
Defensive Player to Watch - #18 Joe Holenstein: The San Diego, California native has led the RIT pole group with 69 grounders and 28 CTs. Holenstein has proved to be a threat in transition with three scores and two helpers.
Faceoff - #38 Philip Minardo and #22 Ethan Spillane: Minardo and Spillane hail from the Garden State and have won 281 of their 494 face-offs taken. Minardo leads the duo with a 61.9 percent face-off win rate and has netted six goals and one assist in his rookie campaign.
Goalkeeper - #31 Alex Zborowski: The three-year starter has faced one shy of 2100 shots in his career with the Tigers. The senior has steadily held a 56.2 percent save percentage and has made 665 career stops, good enough for third in program history.

13-6 (7-1 NCAC) in 2025
First appearance in NCAA Tournament. Won CCIW over Ill. Wesleyan, 19-9.
Ranked Wins: #19 Denison
Losses: Colorado College, Hope and Ohio Wesleyan
Offensive Player to Watch - #2 Eli Spence: Spence is the leading active scorer in all divisions of lacrosse with 403 in his four-year career. Spence is averaging 6.67 points on 4.28 goals per game which is fourth and third in the nation, respectively.
Defensive Player to Watch - #24 Gabe Henry: Henry, a high school teammate of Spence at Mount Si High School in Washington, has put together a 59 ground ball and 42 caused turnover season so far in 16 games played.
Faceoff - #10 Tony Vazquez: Vazquez ranks 11th in DIII lacrosse with a 71.6 percent face-off win rate. Vazquez has totaled 1035 career wins at the dot.
Goalkeeper - #12 Andrew Lacksonen: The Blue Jays keeper has served two stints as the starter in his tenure with Elmhurst in 2026, the senior has made 192 saves to 156 goals allowed, boasting a 9.12 GAA.

Division III Tournament Bracket