Christopher Newport’s second all-time NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse semifinal appearance ended Sunday with a 12-8 loss at nemesis Salisbury.
Sixth-year Salisbury player Cross Ferrara had four goals and three assists as the Sea Gulls reached their 20th NCAA men’s lacrosse final, all under Jim Berkman, their head coach since 1989.
The Sea Gulls, ranked second nationally before the tournament, were the only team to defeat fourth-ranked CNU (19-3) this year — doing so in the regular season, the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Tournament final and Sunday’s game.
Over the past two years, CNU is 0-4 against Salisbury and 37-1 against other opponents.
Drew Miller led the Captains with four goals, while Brett Jackson had two. Zac Hanway made 16 saves for CNU, while Salisbury goalkeeper Nicholas Ransom had eight.
The Captains built momentum with three NCAA Tournament victories — the first two at home and then Saturday’s white-knuckle 12-11 overtime triumph against Dickinson, in which the Captains rallied from three goals behind in the final 5:31 of regulation.
CNU kept up that momentum in Sunday’s first quarter, going ahead 3-2. But the Sea Gulls (22-1) put in three goals in the second quarter before Miller scored off Andrew Cook’s assist with two seconds to go, cutting the Captains’ halftime deficit to 5-4.
CNU went scoreless in the third quarter and fell behind 9-4 early in the fourth. The Captains got within 9-7 with 5:38 remaining on consecutive goals by Jackson, Miller and Cook, but Ferrara netted two goals in a 3-0 Salisbury run that sealed CNU’s fate.
The 12-time champion Sea Gulls will play at 4 p.m. next Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, for the title against Tufts of Boston.