The euphoria is gone. After toppling then-No. 1 Stevenson by a 16-10 score on Saturday, Salisbury had a chance to relish the victory before heading back to the office.
“It was a good day on Saturday, and I told them to enjoy the moment, but right now, we’re focusing on beating [Capital Athletic Conference rival] St. Mary’s on Wednesday,” coach Jim Berkman said. “That’s our next thing, considering how we’re playing for first place in the conference on Wednesday night.”
After beating reigning Division III national champion Cortland by a goal and edging then-No. 1 Gettysburg in overtime by the same margin, the Sea Gulls didn’t stress out about challenging the Mustangs, who had opened the season with 10 consecutive wins.
“I think it definitely helped us, to prepare us for that kind of environment,” Berkman said of the team’s last eight contests which included four ranked opponents. “We had played two other teams that were very similar in ability and where when you went into the game, it was a 50-50 game. I think when you’ve been in that arena and when you’ve been in an arena where it’s going down and you’ve still got to make good decision in the last two minutes of the game because it’s 12-11 or an overtime game, you can’t duplicate that experience in practice.”
Salisbury’s wave of good feelings was tempered by the season-ending injury to sophomore midfielder Tim Lum, who broke his leg midway through the first quarter on Saturday. Lum, who was seventh on the team in goals (6) and ninth in points (7), ran on the second midfield, and his presence will be missed, Berkman said.
“Tim is a big, athletic, physical kid,” Berkman said. “Tim Lum is 190 pounds and 6-foot-1, and he’s one of the fastest guys on our team. He was just coming into his own.”
Berkman said Lum will likely be replaced by junior Perry Craz with senior Ryan Finch getting some work, too.
“He’s next in line,” Berkman said of Craz. “He played in the game a little bit, and he’s played in almost every game we’ve had. He was injured a little bit, but hopefully, he’s recovered from that ankle sprain that he had. … Hopefully, Perry and some other middies will step up and make the most of their opportunities.”