Salisbury men's lacrosse moves to 3-0 with victory over Widener

The No. 2 Salisbury University men's lacrosse team used a scoring outburst on Saturday afternoon to push its record to 3-0 as the Sea Gulls downed host Widener University, 16-3.

Three different members of the maroon and gold (3-0) tallied hat tricks for the afternoon with both Cross Ferrara and Josh Melton netting four goals each while Tyler Snyder recorded three.

Salisbury got off to a quick start firing home four markers in the opening frame, including two from both Snyder and Ferrara.

Snyder extended the Sea Gulls' lead to 2-0 when he finished off a man up opportunity, firing home a pass from Melton. Ferrara closed the first quarter scoring when he tallied his first of the afternoon to push the lead to 4-0.

Snyder and Melton each found the net in the second quarter to combine for four goals. The two tallied back-to-back markers in a less than a 30-second span to push the lead to 7-0.

Melton concluded the first half scoring by putting away his second marker of the afternoon with 32 seconds left to play in the opening half to give the visitors a 9-0 advantage heading into the break.

Ferrara continued the offensive outburst firing home three straight goals in just over a three minute span to open the second half action. Ferrara scored the first goal of the second half on an unassisted effort while finishing off passes from both Zach Pompea and freshmen Joe Saulino for the next two tallies.

Melton would have a hand in scoring three of the final four goals for the afternoon, scoring two and assisting with another, including the final maroon and goal marker of the afternoon with just over two minutes left to play in the fourth.

The defense was equally as impressive, limiting Widener (0-1) to just three goals on 36 total shots.

It is the lowest goal output the Sea Gulls have allowed since holding Christopher Newport University to three goals in the semifinals of last year's Capital Athletic Conference playoffs.

Brandon Warren finished the afternoon with 11 saves on 11 shots on goal while Kevin Murphy and Brett Malamphy combined to scoop up seven groundballs.

Salisbury returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 23 when it hosts No. 7 Gettysburg College at 1 p.m. at Sea Gull Stadium.