May 29, 2010
Tufts ready for shot at national title
by Ed Flaherty/
Tufts University's Matt Witko and the Jumbos will face Salisbury for the Division 3 men's national title on Sunday. (photo: Tufts University Athletics)
History won’t be on Tufts University’s side when the Jumbos take the field on Sunday in the NCAA Division 3 men’s lacrosse championship game against Salisbury.
Tufts (19-1) is making its first-ever championship game appearance in just its third trip to the NCAA tournament.
For Salisbury (21-1), a trip to the national championship game has been a regular occurrence. The Sea Gulls are making their 22nd straight NCAA tournament appearance and have eight national titles to their credit.
Sunday’s game at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium (noon) will be Salisbury’s seventh trip to the championship game in the last eight years.
Tufts coach Mike Daly said the Jumbos know what they’re up against on Sunday but added that he has faith and confidence in his team.
“I just wouldn’t bet anything against these guys,” he said. “They’ve done this against Cortland, against Middlebury, against Wesleyan, against Final Four-type teams. We really feel and we have embraced that anybody can beat anyone on any given day.”
Both teams have been tested on their road to Baltimore.
Tufts rallied past Middlebury in the quarterfinals (11-9 win) and Cortland in the semifinals (10-9 win).
Daly said the Jumbos can’t afford to be playing from behind against Salisbury on Sunday.
“We’re really focused on a good start,” Daly said. “We had a slow start against Cortland and I’m not sure we want to put ourselves in that position again.”
Salisbury, meanwhile, advanced with overtime wins against Haverford (12-11) in the quarterfinals and Stevenson (14-13) in the semifinals.
In both of those games the Sea Gulls trailed after the first quarter, a situation Salisbury coach Jim Berkman hopes to avoid on Sunday.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball on Sunday,” said Berkman, the winningest coach in NCAA men’s lacrosse history. “That will be very important, that we take care of the ball, especially in the first quarter.”
Tufts has made its up-tempo, pressure style of play work for it all season, but the Jumbos will be facing an opponent that is eager to run with them on Sunday.
Salisbury has outscored its opponents 350-161 this season and has five players with 50 or more points, with two – Sam Bradman and Matt Cannone – with more than 80.
“That’s the way we play,” Berkman said. “We’ve never had a problem playing fast.”
Bradman will draw a great deal of attention from the Tufts defense.
“He might be the best player in the country and that’s what will be fun and challenging,” Daly said.
Tufts has scoring punch of its own as the Jumbos have outscored their opponents 259-168.
Pacing the Tufts offense are DJ Hessler (36 goals, 50 assists), Ryan Molloy (35 goals, 29 assists) and Sean Kirwan (48 goals, 5 assists).
Salisbury, which is located in Salisbury, Md., could be a crowd favorite with the game being played in Baltimore.
“It’s in our home state and Sea Gull nation has a pretty big following,” Berkman said. “There will be a big contingent of those people at M&T Stadium since it is almost in our backyard.”
As for the history factor, the Jumbos have already made some of their own by defeating Cortland in the semifinals, ending the Red Dragons’ run of four straight trips to the Division 3 championship game.
During the week, Daly said the Jumbos were still working on their scouting report for Salisbury.
“We’ve seen them a bunch on TV,” Daly said. “We’ve never played them. It’s a whole new preparation for our team but so was Cortland and nobody gave us a chance up there.”
Notes
►Tufts practiced at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Thursday in preparation for Sunday’s game. The Jumbos were the guests of the Kraft family, owners of the New England Patriots, New England Revolution and Gillette Stadium. Dan Kraft, a 1987 Tufts graduate and a member of the Tufts University Board of Trustees, played lacrosse for the Jumbos.
►Sunday’s championship game will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network, starting at noon.
►Berkman has a 358-35 record in 22 seasons at Salisbury. He broke the record for all-time coaching victories in the 2008 NCAA tournament, surpassing former Army coach Jack Emmer (326). Berkman also coached one season at Potsdam State.
►The Salisbury women’s lacrosse team defeated Hamilton for the NCAA Division 3 national title on May 23. Jim Berkman’s daughter, Keli, is a freshman goalkeeper on the women’s team.
