Salisbury men defend CAC championship, punch ticket to NCAA tournament

The No. 19 Salisbury University men\'s soccer team successfully defended its Capital Athletic Conference championship on an overcast and wet Saturday afternoon as the third-seed Sea Gulls shutout fourth-seed Wesley College 3-0 in the title game before 500 fans at the SU Soccer Complex.

The victory gives Salisbury (15-3-3) an automatic bid into the upcoming 2008 NCAA Division III men\'s soccer tournament. The Sea Gulls will be making their second straight appearance and eighth overall in program history. The official NCAA field will be announced on Monday.

"We set one goal at the beginning of the season and that was to win the CAC championship," said SU coach Gerry DiBartolo.

The Sea Gulls struck first, 15 minutes into the game, when sophomore forward Ben DeLisle took a Steven Merrow pass from the top of the box and blasted the ball past Wolverine goalkeeper Nick Talarico (six saves). DeLisle scored at least one goal in SU\'s three CAC playoff wins and leads the team with 11 goals for the season.

Junior midfielder Kyle Sterling notched Salisbury\'s second goal on an unassisted blast that was scored from the left side. Sterling picked up a rebound two feet in front of the goal and ripped the ball into the back of the net. The goal proved to be Sterling\'s 10th of the season.

SU added a third goal in the first half, 33 minutes in, when sophomore forward Chris Finney took a pass from senior midfielder Scott Sparrow on the right side and deposited the ball into the right corner of the goal. The Sea Gulls took the 3-0 advantage into halftime.

The Salisbury defense was once again spectacular as it held Wesley scoreless as the Sea Gulls recorded its 11th shutout of the season. Junior Greg Wellinghoff (13-2-3) earned the win as he made three saves. The Wolverine (11-7-3) offense was held to just three shots on goal. SU led Wesley 22-7 in shots and held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.

In the regular season, Salisbury was defeated 3-2 on the road by the Wolverines as Wesley tallied three unanswered goals. The Wolverines advanced to the CAC title game after Wesley defeated No. 2 ranked and top-seed York (Pa.) College in a penalty kick shootout, 3-0, in the CAC semifinals. Salisbury defeated Mary Washington in the CAC semifinals (4-1) and Marymount (Va.) University in the CAC quarterfinals (7-1).

"We all thought we would be going to York but as we know anything can happen," said DiBartolo of the conference semifinal results. "But we wanted a second at Wesley as well. Our focus was really good leading up to this game."

After the postgame awards presentation the Sea Gulls celebrated their seventh conference crown by giving DiBartolo a haircut. DiBartolo challenged his team back at the start of October, after the Sea Gulls lost three games in a row and had one tie, that if the team won the CAC championship they could shave his hair down to a buzz cut. DiBartolo kept his word and proudly held the 2008 CAC championship plaque in his hands as different players stepped up to shave some hair off of their coach\'s head.

"It feels good. I am not sure if I want to look at it," said DiBartolo of his new look.