SALEM, Va. --- Salisbury raced out to a 6-0 lead after 15-minutes of play and held off a late rally by Roanoke to win, 10-7 at Kerr Stadium Wednesday night. The Maroons dropped to 5-3 while the Sea Gulls remain undefeated at 8-0.

In the first meeting on turf between the two top-10 teams in NCAA Div. III, the Sea Gulls now claim a 16-8 series advantage over the Maroons. It was the closest outcome in the series since the 2006 overtime loss to SU in the national semifinals, 13-12.

Roanoke, ranked eighth in the country, held a slight edge in shots (41-39) and was successful in 21-of-25 clears. Salisbury, ranked third in the USILA Top-20 Coaches Poll, won the groundball war, 34-29, were successful in 19-of-21 clear attempts and won 16-of-21 face-offs in a dreary downpour.

In a physical match-up with a total of 16 penalties (7-SU; 9 RC), the Sea Gulls dominated the first quarter with six unanswered goals to take a commanding lead. Trey Keeley (Lancaster, PA, Conestaga Valley High School) scored a goal from the left side as he was falling to end the run early in the second quarter.

After Salisbury scored back-to-back goals to extend its lead to 8-1, Justin Tuma (Bloomfield Hills, MI, Lahser) started a swing of four-straight goals for Roanoke to close to within three with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter. The Maroons scored on two man-down situations.

Ryan Clarke and Shawn Zordani scored for the Sea Gulls to make it, 10-5, but RC cut its deficit back to three. Tyler Cockey (Woodbine, MD, Century) (unassisted) and Reid Mayberry's (Annandale, VA, W.T. Woodson) goal from Keeley made it 10-7 with less than a minute remaining, but Salisbury won the final face-off and controlled possession as the clock ran out.

Keeley led Roanoke with two goals and an assist, totaling 11 shots while 4-of-9 on face-off attempts. Conner DuBois (Lititz, PA, Manheim Township) and Drew Manley (Severna Park, MD, St. Mary's Annapolis) collected four groundballs each to lead the Maroons as Alex Burkhead (Winston-Salem, NC, Forsyth Country Day) caused a game-best five turnovers.

Salisbury's Matt Cannone led all scorers with five goals on the night. Erik Krum shared the wealth, dishing out three assists while Sam Bradman finished with a goal and two assists. Tyler Granelli collected six groundballs and won 11-of-12 face-offs for the Sea Gulls.

Johnny Rodriguez totaled nine saves for SU. Charles Pease (Landisville, PA, Hempfield) had 12 saves in his second collegiate start and first full game for the Maroons.

The men return to action on Saturday, March 26 as they take on the Yellow Jackets on Randolph-Macon in ODAC action. Game time is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.