skip navigation

D3 Championship Preview: Who Will Come Out on Top in D3's Newest Rivarly

By Tanner Barbieri, 05/25/16, 2:30PM EDT

Share

Tufts hopes to establish D3 dominance, while Salisbury hopes to get back to glory

A Rivarly in the Making

The scene is set for this years D3 National Championship matchup, Sunday May 29th at 1:00 pm at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.  This year will mark the fourth time that Salisbury and Tufts meet in the National Championship.  Tufts leads the series 2-1 as they hope to win a third straight NCAA D3 title.   In 2010 Tufts beat Salisbury 9-6, in 2011 Salisbury beat Tufts 19-7.  Since their 2014 win over Salisbury 12-9, Tufts still defends the title.  Tufts hopes to win their 3rd straight National Championship, the last team to do so was Salisbury on their run from 2003-05. 

Expect Offensive Fireworks!

TUFTS SCORING OFFENSE                # 1 IN D3 (17.69 GPG)
SALISBURY SCORING OFFENSE          # 5 IN D3 (16.39 GPG)

Salisbury holds a nearly perfect record, 22-1.  Their only loss was to York College in the CAC tournament final.  This will be the Seagulls 15th National Championship game appearance, and they will be hunting for their 11th NCAA title win.  The last time they were able to hoist the trophy was in 2012 beating SUNY Cortland 14-10.  The Seagulls have been shooting the ball about 37% on the season which allows them to score over 16 goals per game.  They have a solid defense which holds opponents to under 7 goals per game.  They also are a strong face-off team, winning about 58% of face-offs on the season.  Salisbury is an high paced offensive team and their strong defense and goalie play allows them to play that up and down tempo of lacrosse.  Salisbury will be tested again on Sunday when the matchup against the Jumbos for the fourth time.

Tufts will be looking for there 4th National Championship, which would be their 3rd straight.  This will be the Jumbo's 5th appearance playing on Memorial Day Weekend.  Last year they beat Lynchburg 19-11 and in 2014 they beat Salisbury 14-9.  Salisbury will be Tufts biggest obstacle of the season.  Similar to Salisbury, Tufts shoots the ball about 35% and scores over 17 goals per game.  Their defense holds opponents to 12 or less goals, and they're winning about 61% of face-offs.  The Jumbos are another offensive team that scores a lot of goals.  Salisbury will be the toughest defensive team they have played all season.  Their offense will be tested against the Salisbury defense. 

Expect this game to be fast paced and very high scoring as both offenses average well over 15 goals per game.  Could this game be the highest scoring championship ever?

Tune in on Sunday May 29th @ 1:00 pm to find out ! 

WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE!

Tufts vs. Salisbury


Sunday May 29, 1:00PM

Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia


Offensive Players to Watch!

John Uppgrenn - Attack
400+ Career points
126 Points in 2016
Nescac Player of the YEar

Thomas Cirillo - Midfield
185+ career Points
82 Points in 2016
CAC Player of the YEar



Tufts looks to 3-peat


Salisbury celebrating its 2012 National Championship

Championship Weekend in Philadelphia 2016