Colorado College stayed within striking distance of No. 2 Salisbury University for 30 minutes but the Sea Gulls utilized a strong third quarter performance to pull away for an 18-10 victory in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon. 

"First and foremost I couldn't be prouder of the effort," coach Mike Horowitz said. "It's great as a head coach when effort is an after-thought. When you know the guys are going to play as hard as they can. I think Salisbury is a great team and they showed it today"

Junior goaltender Ben Anastos tied his season high with 16 saves, ten of those coming in the first half to keep the Tigers within striking distance. Freshman attack Thomas Power put CC on the board 10:14 in the frame. Declan Maguire and Charlie Faldi also connected to end the first in a 4-3 deficit. 

The Sea Gulls struck for five consecutive goals to start the second quarter before Power connected at 4:19 for his second goal of the game. CC battled through the second with goals from Dylan Brown, and a pair from Makay Hansen to end the half down 11-8.

CC's comeback hopes were dashed when Salisbury stuck for six unanswered goals to start the second half. Brown cut the momentum for the Sea Gulls with his second goal of the night and senior attack Jack Haims closed out the scoring with 3:43 remaining. 

Hansen led the Tigers with three goals and three ground balls. Freshman defender Ben Clarke earned a team-high seven ground balls. 

The Tigers and the Sea Gulls were even 15-15 on the dot but Salisbury held the 48-30 advantage in ground balls. 

Salisbury launched 55 total shots to CC's 38. 

The Tigers finished the season with a 9-7 record.