Twice As Sweet - May 29, 2005

PHILADELPHIA—There were many highs for the two-time defending NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse team from Salisbury University in 2005. But no play ranked higher for Sea Gull fans than the swiping shot by junior attackman Chris Phillips with 5.6 seconds remaining as he took a rebound by teammate Justin Smith and drove the ball into the lower right-hand corner of the goal to give Salisbury (20-0) an 11-10 victory and its third consecutive national championship Sunday here at Lincoln Financial Field.

The win was not only the sixth overall title for the No.1-ranked Sea Gulls, but it stretched the NCAA all-division record for consecutive victories to 49. SU set the mark a week ago at 48 with the semifinal victory over Roanoke. The 2005 championship game was watched before a record crowd of 21,052, and fans weren’t disappointed as they saw the score tied five times.

It was the second time that Phillips has clinched the championship for Salisbury and ended the Middlebury season in the title game. He lifted the Sea Gulls to the 2003 championship with 3:31 remaining in overtime to give SU a 14-13 triumph and a national title.

While Phillips stole the last-second limelight for the second time in three years, senior goalie Dan Korpon kept his squad in the game early and earned the Most Outstanding Player award. Korpon, who was second in the nation in goals allowed per game (6.56), moved up to third place in career saves at Salisbury (470) and improved his career mark at SU to an impressive 76-6 (.927), recorded five saves in the first quarter and five more in the fourth and finished with a game-high 12.

"I’ve been a Danny Korpon fan for years," said a relaxed Salisbury Head Coach Jim Berkman at the post-game interview. He’s gotten no respect for years, but I’m proud that he’s been resilient during his entire career here.

"And you don’t win championships without a great goalie, and Danny has proved over and over he’s exactly that. He played a great game today and deserves the recognition he’s getting now."

Smith’s game-winner came as the Sea Gulls overcame their biggest deficit of the season - two goals - in the final 8:48. Trailing 10-8, the Sea Gulls began taking the momentum back from the Panthers with 5:24 on the clock when junior Mike Hurley (1g, 2a) took a pass from junior Dan Boyer (2a) and scored his 13th goal of the season. SU then tied the score with 4:01 remaining when junior Jimmy Creighton scored his second goal of the contest and ninth of the season.

Salisbury tried to set up the game winner by running down the clock in the final minute before calling timeout. The Gulls worked the ball around the back of the goal and Smith tried to ice the game with 14 seconds remaining when he moved around in front of the goal on the right side. His shot rebounded wide to Phillips and the clutch performer took it upon himself to claim the title.

"I just picked up the ground ball from Smith’s shot and looked up at the clock and there was about 10 second left and I knew I had to go to the goal," Phillips said. "So I just put my head down and went after it."

Salisbury won the contest despite losing 18-of-24 face-offs, a statistic that the Sea Gulls dominated throughout the season. Senior Bryan Bradford came into the contest winning 258-of-391 (.660), but managed to secure only 5-of-18 (.278) against the Panthers.

"I was excited at halftime that the score was tied 5-5," Berkman said when asked about being in the game at intermission despite the troubles on face-offs. "They had dominated the face-offs. I’ve been coaching at Salisbury for 17 years and we’ve had some great face-off guys. Bryan Bradford is one of the best in the country. He’s never been beaten like that ever. We’ve never been beaten like that ever. We had no answer for them."

Salisbury led 2-0 with 4:30 gone in the contest, but only led 3-2 at the end of the first period. Phillips and sophomore Eric Bishop (1g, 1a) scored in the period for SU.

Junior Jimmy Creighton scored one of his two goals in the period and sophomore Mike Edwards scored his 11th goal of the year as the two teams were squared 5-5 at intermission.

After Smith and sophomore Matt Dasinger gave the Sea Gulls a 7-5 lead with 9:22 left in the third period, Middlebury ran off three straight goals to take its first lead of the game, 8-7, with 27.8 seconds left in the quarter.

Salisbury tied the game at 8-8 on Jeff Bigas’ goal with 14:40 remaining, before two straight Middlebury goals put SU in a two-goal hole with 8:48 remaining.



		(also see articles from The Baltimore Sun \| Lacrosse Magazine \| Inside Lacrosse \| Lax.com \| NCAA Sports) from Salisbury University Salisbury Claims Third Consecutive National Championship PHILADELPHIA—There were many highs for the two-time defending NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse team from Salisbury University in 2005. But no play ranked higher for Sea Gull fans than the swiping shot by junior attackman Chris Phillips with 5.6 seconds remaining as he took a rebound by teammate Justin Smith and drove the ball into the lower right-hand corner of the goal to give Salisbury (20-0) an 11-10 victory and its third consecutive national championship Sunday here at Lincoln Financial Field. The win was not only the sixth overall title for the No.1-ranked Sea Gulls, but it stretched the NCAA all-division record for consecutive victories to 49. SU set the mark a week ago at 48 with the semifinal victory over Roanoke. The 2005 championship game was watched before a record crowd of 21,052, and fans weren’t disappointed as they saw the score tied five times. It was the second time that Phillips has clinched the championship for Salisbury and ended the Middlebury season in the title game. He lifted the Sea Gulls to the 2003 championship with 3:31 remaining in overtime to give SU a 14-13 triumph and a national title. While Phillips stole the last-second limelight for the second time in three years, senior goalie Dan Korpon kept his squad in the game early and earned the Most Outstanding Player award. Korpon, who was second in the nation in goals allowed per game (6.56), moved up to third place in career saves at Salisbury (470) and improved his career mark at SU to an impressive 76-6 (.927), recorded five saves in the first quarter and five more in the fourth and finished with a game-high 12. "I’ve been a Danny Korpon fan for years," said a relaxed Salisbury Head Coach Jim Berkman at the post-game interview. He’s gotten no respect for years, but I’m proud that he’s been resilient during his entire career here. "And you don’t win championships without a great goalie, and Danny has proved over and over he’s exactly that. He played a great game today and deserves the recognition he’s getting now." Smith’s game-winner came as the Sea Gulls overcame their biggest deficit of the season - two goals - in the final 8:48. Trailing 10-8, the Sea Gulls began taking the momentum back from the Panthers with 5:24 on the clock when junior Mike Hurley (1g, 2a) took a pass from junior Dan Boyer (2a) and scored his 13th goal of the season. SU then tied the score with 4:01 remaining when junior Jimmy Creighton scored his second goal of the contest and ninth of the season. Salisbury tried to set up the game winner by running down the clock in the final minute before calling timeout. The Gulls worked the ball around the back of the goal and Smith tried to ice the game with 14 seconds remaining when he moved around in front of the goal on the right side. His shot rebounded wide to Phillips and the clutch performer took it upon himself to claim the title. "I just picked up the ground ball from Smith’s shot and looked up at the clock and there was about 10 second left and I knew I had to go to the goal," Phillips said. "So I just put my head down and went after it." Salisbury won the contest despite losing 18-of-24 face-offs, a statistic that the Sea Gulls dominated throughout the season. Senior Bryan Bradford came into the contest winning 258-of-391 (.660), but managed to secure only 5-of-18 (.278) against the Panthers. "I was excited at halftime that the score was tied 5-5," Berkman said when asked about being in the game at intermission despite the troubles on face-offs. "They had dominated the face-offs. I’ve been coaching at Salisbury for 17 years and we’ve had some great face-off guys. Bryan Bradford is one of the best in the country. He’s never been beaten like that ever. We’ve never been beaten like that ever. We had no answer for them." Salisbury led 2-0 with 4:30 gone in the contest, but only led 3-2 at the end of the first period. Phillips and sophomore Eric Bishop (1g, 1a) scored in the period for SU. Junior Jimmy Creighton scored one of his two goals in the period and sophomore Mike Edwards scored his 11th goal of the year as the two teams were squared 5-5 at intermission. After Smith and sophomore Matt Dasinger gave the Sea Gulls a 7-5 lead with 9:22 left in the third period, Middlebury ran off three straight goals to take its first lead of the game, 8-7, with 27.8 seconds left in the quarter. Salisbury tied the game at 8-8 on Jeff Bigas’ goal with 14:40 remaining, before two straight Middlebury goals put SU in a two-goal hole with 8:48 remaining. That’s when the Gulls began their magical comeback.