College lacrosse: Watertown's Berkman directs Division III Salisbury into quarterfinals vs. Tufts

May 21—Watertown native Jim Berkman leads his Salisbury men's lacrosse team into an NCAA Division III quarterfinal this afternoon against Tufts University at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester.

Salisbury, a 12-time national champion under Berkman, is seeded No. 1/2 in national polls and takes on No. 4 Tufts at 3 p.m. in a bid to advance to a 29th NCAA semifinal appearance. The Sea Gulls are 20-1.

Salisbury features two north country natives on its roster, senior attackman Isaac Thrasher and junior long stick midfielder Luke Piroli. Thrasher, from Canton, has registered 51 points, including 42 goals, good for fifth on the team in 21 starts. Piroli, a former Carthage standout, has appeared in 21 games in a mainly defensive role, recording 14 ground balls.

Berkman, in his 34th year with Salisbury, is the all-time winningest men's lacrosse coach in NCAA history with 588 victories. He's a three-time NCAA Division III coach of the year and has led the Sea Gulls to seven undefeated seasons and national titles in 1994, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach was an All-American midfielder for St. Lawrence University, and starred on the Saints' basketball team, graduating in 1982. He coached for both SUNY Potsdam and SLU before taking over at Salisbury in 1989.

A victory today will put Salisbury into the semifinals against either Gettysburg or Union College on Sunday. The Division III title game is set for 1 p.m. May 29 in East Hartford, Conn.

LE MOYNE SEEKS SEMIFINAL WIN

Le Moyne College plays Mercy College at 1 p.m. Sunday for a berth in the NCAA Division II men's lacrosse championship game.

Le Moyne (16-3) is ranked fourth in Division II and plays second-ranked Mercy (15-1), which is also the No. 1 seed, at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry.

Le Moyne's roster includes three north country athletes, including two former Watertown High School players. Sophomore Nick Mallette, who plays defense, has appeared in 15 games, including 12 starts. He's totaled 12 ground balls.

Former Cyclone Ryder Simser, a redshirt sophomore, has played five games at midfield and scored a goal.

Massena's Hayden Hoerner, a junior, is Le Moyne's backup goalie. He's appeared in six games, playing 93:29 minutes with 14 saves and a 9.63 goals-against average.

The University of Tampa and Limestone University play in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners advance to the Division II title game at 4 p.m. May 29 in East Hartford, Conn.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

MERCYHURST FALLS IN OPENER

NCAA Division II Mercyhurst University, which includes two former Watertown High athletes, fell to East Stroudsburg, 13-3, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on May 13 in East Stroudsburg, Pa.

The Lakers finished the season 14-6.

Watertown's Megan Millard, a freshman midfielder, started in 15 of the 20 games she played for Mercyhurst, supplying four goals and three assists.

Former Watertown player Brenna Smith, a sophomore midfielder, appeared in three games.

PAIGE HELPS MT. OLIVE TO TITLE

Mount Olive attacker Morgan Paige, from Carthage, joined her teammates in celebrating its second consecutive Conference Carolinas Women's Lacrosse Tournament championship April 30 in Tigerville, S.C.

Paige, a graduate student, scored the first goal of the game for the Trojans (14-5). She finished the season with 29 goals and 14 assists for 43 points, which was fifth on the team. Paige's 23 groundballs were third on the team.