Boxscore

(Salisbury, Md.) – The #6-ranked Dickinson College men's lacrosse team came out and played even with top-ranked Salisbury for the better part of Wednesday night's NCAA Quarterfinal match-up. The Sea Gulls used a strong third quarter to gain some breathing room, en route to a 12-4 win.

Erik Krum put Salisbury on the board, scoring off a nice feed from Tony Mendes with 9:10 remaining in the first quarter. The Devils answered immediately as junior Chip Murray (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) won the ensuing face-off and went straight to goal to net the equalizer.

Krum and Mendes connected again with 1:53 on the clock to give the Sea Gulls a 2-1 advantage at the end of the first period. Salisbury struck again in the opening minute of the second quarter. The Devils capitalized on an extra-man opportunity at the 10:33 mark as first-year Brian Cannon (Reisterstown, Md./Loyola Blakefield) fed senior Pat Curley (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. St. Joseph) to cut the margin to 3-2.

Jeff McGuire finished an assist from Matt Cannone to put the Gulls up 4-2. Junior Matt Cherry (Radnor, Pa./Radnor) answered with a crease dodge with 1:20 remaining in the half, looking to give the Devils some momentum as they headed into halftime. Salisbury would strike again, however, with just five seconds remaining to make the score, 5-3, at the break.

Both teams struggled to establish any rhythm on face-offs in the second half, leading to some sporadic play on the restarts. The Sea Gulls capitalized, scoring four straight goals in the third quarter to hold a 9-3 lead, heading into the final period.

The Red Devils continued to battle, but were unable to gain any ground on the hosts. Krum opened and closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-high four goals. Junior Bobby Kingsley (Bethesda, Md./St. Alban's) picked up a rebound and fed sophomore Nick Leon (Chevy Chase, Md./Gonzaga) for a goal from long range, cutting the deficit to 10-4 with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Krum led the Sea Gulls (19-1) with four goals while Johnny Rodriquez turned in an outstanding performance in goal, making eight saves.

Sophomore midfielder Brandon Palladino (Basking Ridge, N.J./Basking Ridge) played well in transition for the Red Devils, controlling four ground balls Senior Nick Weaver (New York, N.Y./Millbrook) caused a pair of turnovers and picked-up four GBs in the midfield as well.

First-year Draper Donley (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul's) and John Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien) anchored the Devil defense, each controlling three GBs. Sophomore Greg Hanley (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) was also outstanding in goal, making nine saves on the night.

The Red Devils finish with the best record in school history at 17-2. They earned their first automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs, capturing the program's first Centennial Conference title. The Devils were unbeaten in the Centennial Conference and unbeaten at home in 2011.