Second Times the Charm: Salisbury Tops Tufts 2nd Second Time Around

Sunday afternoon the Salisbury Sea Gulls captured their 9th NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship with a demanding 19-7 win over the reigning Champion Jumbos of Tufts University. The victory was extra sweet by avenging the final round loss to Tufts the year before. The Sea Gulls victory ends the 17 year drought for the program and marks the 15th title in school history as well as the 9th title for head coach Jim Berkman in his 23 year tenure.

Salisbury came out of the gate hungry, starting with a big defensive stop followed by 3 quick goals, forcing the Tufts coaching staff to call a timeout rather quickly. Tufts was able to recuperate by scoring one tally but ended the first half down 6-1, ironically the same lead they had at half time last year. The difference in the first half was owning the ground and the face-off circle. Salisbury scooped up 18 balls of the turf where Tufts only had 10, won 57% of the draws, and nearly doubled the Jumbos 14 shots with 27 of their own.

The Sea Gulls controlled the rest of the contest, rallying behind stellar goaltending from Division III National Goalkeeper of the Year Johnny Rodriguez and explosive offense from Sam Bradman with a career high 8 points.

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Tune into watch the Virginia and Maryland duke it out for the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship today, 3:30 on ESPN2.

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I'm Sure No Underdogs are Upset Right Now: The Weekend of Upsets

This weekend was one for the books. This awfully shocking lacrosse saga ended withonly one higher seed advancing from each coupling. Make no mistake, these are all talented teams more than deserving that trip to M&T stadium. This is the first trip to championship weekend for Denver, with the possibility of winning their very first NCAA Division I Mens Lacrosse Title. Before the 2011 tournament not only had a team from west of the Mississippi River never even won a game let alone gotten to Championship Weekend. We tip our hat to Tearney and his Denver Pioneers. Below are some of the highlights from the weekend.

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No one could have missed the shocking new uniforms sported by Syracuse. Syracuse's famous caution orange was married to Nike's new trademark neon yellow making the whole team look like a slew of traffic cones. Researchers from Nike claim that the color is the most noticeable and eye catching color created. When Syracuse head coach, John Desko, was reminded that Oregon football wore the same color in their championship appearance and lost, he said he really didnt care, as long as the kids were focused and excited. I bet he is thinking about it now.

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These games were some of the best televised games I had every seen. Not only were the games all nail bitters and the camera angles were awesome, especially the behind the net cam, but all the games had some of the most hilarious commentating. The best one liners are below..

"Helicopter! Yard sale in Foxborough"
"Telegraphed- Right in the Breadbasket"
"looking for the ice breaker"
"Right down Route 1 to the net!"
"FASTBALL, high."
"Ready to throw the lumber"
"Turning on the jets"
"The Skooch as he puts it on the carpet."

Vote on your favorite on our FACEBOOK PAGE:

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ESPN Highlights: "Maryland knocks off Syracuse in OT"

ESPN Highlights: "Duke (5) edges Notre Dame (4)"

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ESPN Preview, get excited!

Now we are all looking for next week. Will a first time Champion be crowned, with Denver prevailing? Will Duke repeat or will Virginia or Maryland return to Lacrosse glory? It should be an exciting weekend all televised on the ESPN networks. Cant wait to see what surprises Nike has in store for us this weekend. The schedule is below...

Saturday, May 28 SEMIFINAL
Virginia vs. Denver 
4pm, ESPN 2 and espn3.com (online)

Saturday, May 28 SEMIFINAL

Maryland vs. Duke 

6:30pm, ESPN 2 and espn3.com (online)

Monday, May 30 FINAL

3:30pm, ESPN 2 and espn3.com (online)

Mastering the One on One

The one on one, mano a mano, the head to head, the two man tango is an essential part of lacrosse. Will you be able to beat your defender? Will you draw a slide or have a straight lane to the net? The key to be successful as a dodger is being able to identify your strengths while noticing your opponent’s weaknesses. You dont want to make an elaborate move to your weak hand setting yourself for a poor shot opportunity, but at the same time you dont want to be to predictable for your opponents only going to one side (just dont have a weak hand ;) , hit the wall! Scroll down for a reminder on how to practice on the wall).

Young players have the habit of deciding on their move, deke, or juke before they even reach the defender picking a fancy spin or flashy swim move. Moves cant be pre decided, they have to be reactions to what your defender does, you need to be able to read the situation and move from there. Wait for your defender to “commit”, to lunge one way or the other and then make your move.

One of the beauties of lacrosse is an athlete of any size can play, but they cant all play the same way. If you are larger and stronger then your defender use it to your advantage, close the “gap” or space between you and the defender, and physically overpower them. Your opponent will begin to favor one side, over committing, read the situation and roll away from pressure. On the contrary if speed and agility is your strength then keep your distance and use shifty moves to get around the defender apposed through him.

This is another example where lacrosse is just as mental as physical, like violent chess. You must anticipate you opponents movements, prepare for the encounter and then react. Take advantage of your opponents weaknesses and utilize your strengths.

The Game's Rich Past

Lacrosse is considering America's first sport being played by the Native Americans as early as 1500. Although the game of lacrosse we play now is vastly different the tradition and nature of the sport still remains. US Lacrosse has done a fantastic job of creating a written history with a detailed timeline of the progression of the game. Its amazing how far the game has come from a tribal ritual to the world athletic stage. Every player, parent or fan should understand and appreciate the founding of the beautiful game.

Lacrosse Historical Timeline

1636 - Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brebeuf is the first to document the game of lacrosse

1794 - A match between the Seneca and Mohawks results in the creating of basic rules.

1834 - Caughnawaga Indians demonstrate the sport in Montreal. The game is reported by the newspaper and, for the first time, white men are interested in the sport.

1867 - Dr. William George Beers, the father of modern lacrosse, finalizes the first set of playing rules for the Montreal Club.

1876 - Queen Victoria watched and "endorses" a lacrosse game in Windsor, England. New York University is the first college in the United States to establish a lacrosse team.

1881 - The first intercollegiate tournament is held at Westchester Polo Grounds in New York.

1890 - The first women's lacrosse game is played at St. Leonard's School in St. Andrew's, Scotland.

1904 - Lacrosse is first played as an actual event in the Olympics in St. Louis, with Canada winning the gold medal. The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse League is formed. Laurie D. Cox, William C. Schmeisser and Charles Lattig form a committee to develop a uniform code of operation for college lacrosse, and divide the colleges into north and south divisions. 

1908 - Lacrosse is played for the last time as an actual Olympic event in London, and Canada again wins the gold medal.

1926 - Rosabelle Sinclair reestablishes women's lacrosse in the United States when she starts a team at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore.

1931 - The United States Women's Lacrosse Association (USWLA) is formed as the rule-making body for women's lacrosse.

1933 - The USWLA holds its first national tournament in Greenwich, Conn.

1937 - Robert Pool introduces the first double-walled wooden stick, an early prototype for today's plastic sticks.

1947 - The men's field game positions change from goalkeeper, point, cover point, first defense, second defense, center, second attack, first attack and in home to goal keeper, attack, midfield and defense.

1959 - The Lacrosse Foundation is incorporated as the sport's national development center and archive.

1967 - Coach Willis Bilderback of Navy wins his eighth consecutive intercollegiate title.

1971 - Men's college lacrosse allies with the NCAA. The International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Association (IFWLA) is founded.

1978 - The first issue of Lacrosse Magazine is published by The Lacrosse Foundation.

1982 - The first NCAA women's championship is played at Trenton State University between the University of Massachusetts and Trenton State University.

1982 - The first IFWLA World Cup is played in Nottingham, England and won by the United States, which defeated Australia 10-7 in the gold medal game.

1985 - The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Foundation becomes the first of many regional chapters of The Lacrosse Foundation. The Japan Lacrosse Association is formed. The major Indoor Lacrosse League revives professional box lacrosse in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

1990 - Coach Roy Simmons, Jr. of Syracuse University is the first coach to win four NCAA titles.

1997 - The University of Maryland wins it's fifth NCAA women's championship. 

1997 - The new Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame are rededicated, completing the expansion of the US Lacrosse headquarters.

1998 - US Lacrosse is founded as the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse.

2001 - Major League Lacrosse, a professional league for field lacrosse, makes its debut. 

2003 - The NCAA Men's Championship is played in Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, marking the first time that the event is held in an NFL stadium.

2003 - The ILF and IFWLA U-19 World Championships are held in Towson, Maryland (U.S.) where the U.S. teams won both titles.

2004 - Lacrosse is named the official team sport of Maryland. 

2005 - Northwestern becames the first team from outside the Eastern Time Zone to win an NCAA national lacrosse championship at any level. The Wildcats capped a perfect 21-0 season with a 13-10 win over Virginia in the women's Division I final.

2006 - The International Lacrosse Federation World Championship is played in London, Ontario (Canada). The Canadians win the title with a 15-10 victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game, snapping the American men's 38-game winning streak, dating back to 1978.

2008 - The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) is formed through a merger of the men's and women's international lacrosse associations.

2010 - A record 29 nations participate in the FIL Men's World Championship in Manchester, England, The U.S. defeats Canada 12-10 in the gold medal game. 

**For the rest of the article visit, US Lacrosse Website