Posted: May 21, 2011
Roanoke will travel to #1 Salisbury in the NCAA Div. III National Semifinals Sunday at Sea Gull Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
The Maroons (17-3) are ranked seventh in the USILA Top-20 poll and are the “Cinderella” team of the final four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Roanoke travels to Maryland riding a 12-game winning-streak as they gear up to take on the top-seed of this years' tournament.
Roanoke graduated 15 seniors from a year ago, which included two USILA Position Player of the Year recipients (Sam Love and Stephen Simmons) and five USILA All-Americans (Love, Simmons, Matt Quinton, Pat March and Jake Dorsey). Over the course of this season, the Maroons have lost six impact players, which included USILA All-American attack Trey Keeley (Lancaster, PA, Conestaga Valley High School), starting defender Brayden Gerrie (Fergus, ONT, Western Reserve) and senior midfield starter Noah Gibby (Terrace Park, OH, Mariemont) to injury.
With the loss of those key players and with new personnel in the starting lineup, the men have rallied around each other to overcome adversity this spring. Since their last defeat to the hands of Salisbury, 10-7 on March 23, the Maroons have been on a tear. There are new faces in the lineup since that defeat, with 14 underclassmen playing in more than 12 games.
The nation's second-best offense boasts 547 points this year, which includes 329 goals and 218 assists. All three categories are the third-best in a single-season at Roanoke. Eight players have at least 20 points or more, including five with 50+ points on the season. Jeff Keating (Chatham, NJ, Chatham) (85pts) leads the Maroons in scoring, needing seven more points to break the single-season record at RC. Richard Lachlan (Port Coquitlam, B.C., Terry Fox Secondary) (66pts) leads the team with 56 goals, which gives the duo a combined 151 points. It's the fourth-highest scoring duo in school-history, needing 14 more to break the record held by Kris Davis and Andy Bonasera (2003).
Freshman goalie Charles Pease (Landisville, PA, Hempfield) (13-2) earned the full-time starting job against the Sea Gulls in March and has been impressive in his first collegiate season. He has come up with 181 saves, a freshman record for goalies at Roanoke, with a career-best 22-save performance against #3 Stevenson in the NCAA Quarterfinals last Wednesday. He has totaled 79 saves in five post-season games, which includes four games with at least 15 saves over that span.
Salisbury (19-1) is the #1 team in the land according to the USILA and is the top-seed in this year's tournament. The Sea Gulls avenged their only loss of the year against conference-rival and then #1 Stevenson in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Championship game, 16-14. In the NCAA Tournament, SU has downed both #14 Endicott (12-8) and #6 Dickinson (12-4) to advance and host the NCAA Semifinal vs. the Maroons.
The Sea Gulls lead the series, 16-8, including a 4-0 mark in the post-season against Roanoke. SU is 10-5 at home against the Maroons, as this will be the first post-season meeting since 2007. The two teams met in the 2006 national semifinals, with SU claiming a 13-12 overtime win en route to winning the national championship.
Both coaches are among the best in NCAA Div. III history. Bill Pilat is 251-109 while Jim Berkman boasts an astounding 377-37 record as both have coached for 23 seasons. Berkman owns the series against Pilat (14-1) with the only win coming in 1992, as the Maroons advanced to its last national championship appearance. The two played against each other in the 1982 national quarterfinals, as RC topped Berkman's alma mater, St. Lawrence, 14-7, which was Berkman's final collegiate game. Pilat was a freshman goalie for the Maroons.
For a complete look at the game notes, click HERE. To watch the game online, click HERE. To view the live stats, click HERE.
The Maroons (17-3) are ranked seventh in the USILA Top-20 poll and are the “Cinderella” team of the final four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Roanoke travels to Maryland riding a 12-game winning-streak as they gear up to take on the top-seed of this years' tournament.
Roanoke graduated 15 seniors from a year ago, which included two USILA Position Player of the Year recipients (Sam Love and Stephen Simmons) and five USILA All-Americans (Love, Simmons, Matt Quinton, Pat March and Jake Dorsey). Over the course of this season, the Maroons have lost six impact players, which included USILA All-American attack Trey Keeley (Lancaster, PA, Conestaga Valley High School), starting defender Brayden Gerrie (Fergus, ONT, Western Reserve) and senior midfield starter Noah Gibby (Terrace Park, OH, Mariemont) to injury.
With the loss of those key players and with new personnel in the starting lineup, the men have rallied around each other to overcome adversity this spring. Since their last defeat to the hands of Salisbury, 10-7 on March 23, the Maroons have been on a tear. There are new faces in the lineup since that defeat, with 14 underclassmen playing in more than 12 games.
The nation's second-best offense boasts 547 points this year, which includes 329 goals and 218 assists. All three categories are the third-best in a single-season at Roanoke. Eight players have at least 20 points or more, including five with 50+ points on the season. Jeff Keating (Chatham, NJ, Chatham) (85pts) leads the Maroons in scoring, needing seven more points to break the single-season record at RC. Richard Lachlan (Port Coquitlam, B.C., Terry Fox Secondary) (66pts) leads the team with 56 goals, which gives the duo a combined 151 points. It's the fourth-highest scoring duo in school-history, needing 14 more to break the record held by Kris Davis and Andy Bonasera (2003).
Freshman goalie Charles Pease (Landisville, PA, Hempfield) (13-2) earned the full-time starting job against the Sea Gulls in March and has been impressive in his first collegiate season. He has come up with 181 saves, a freshman record for goalies at Roanoke, with a career-best 22-save performance against #3 Stevenson in the NCAA Quarterfinals last Wednesday. He has totaled 79 saves in five post-season games, which includes four games with at least 15 saves over that span.
Salisbury (19-1) is the #1 team in the land according to the USILA and is the top-seed in this year's tournament. The Sea Gulls avenged their only loss of the year against conference-rival and then #1 Stevenson in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Championship game, 16-14. In the NCAA Tournament, SU has downed both #14 Endicott (12-8) and #6 Dickinson (12-4) to advance and host the NCAA Semifinal vs. the Maroons.
The Sea Gulls lead the series, 16-8, including a 4-0 mark in the post-season against Roanoke. SU is 10-5 at home against the Maroons, as this will be the first post-season meeting since 2007. The two teams met in the 2006 national semifinals, with SU claiming a 13-12 overtime win en route to winning the national championship.
Both coaches are among the best in NCAA Div. III history. Bill Pilat is 251-109 while Jim Berkman boasts an astounding 377-37 record as both have coached for 23 seasons. Berkman owns the series against Pilat (14-1) with the only win coming in 1992, as the Maroons advanced to its last national championship appearance. The two played against each other in the 1982 national quarterfinals, as RC topped Berkman's alma mater, St. Lawrence, 14-7, which was Berkman's final collegiate game. Pilat was a freshman goalie for the Maroons.
For a complete look at the game notes, click HERE. To watch the game online, click HERE. To view the live stats, click HERE.
