BY STEVEN MARCUS | steven.marcus@newsday.com
11:13 PM EDT, May 14, 2009
Link
 

C.W. Post attackman Greg Cerar clearly remembers the feeling of detachment last May during championship weekend of the NCAA lacrosse tournament at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Cerar and several teammates were in the stands, not on the field. "We said,'' Cerar recalled, " 'We're not doing this next year. We have to be here playing. We're missing out on it.' That really got our minds set for this season.''

The biggest prize in Division II lacrosse is winning the national title. Of equal significance is playing in the home of the NFL Patriots before an anticipated 25,000 fans.

"We've thought about it probably every day this whole year,'' midfielder Matt Dimler said. "But we have a good program and coaches that keep us on target to take care of what we have to do to take care of our final goal.''

The remaining obstacle comes Saturday when Post hosts Limestone in a national semifinal. The South Carolina school has made 10 straight appearances in the tournament and beat the Pioneers for the national title in 2000.

This time sixth-ranked Limestone is considered the underdog against No. 2 Post, but Limestone assistant coach Andrew Delaney said his players are just as motivated. "You know what they say: Any given Sunday. For us, it is Saturday,'' he said.

The victor advances to the championship game against the winner of the Le Moyne-Merrimack semifinal.

Post's senior class has never made the playoffs. "Everyone's very excited,'' midfielder Mike Cama said. "All of us have been together for four years. All of a sudden, we almost have a championship . . . But we're not taking them lightly at all. We've been going over everything again and again the last two weeks. If we win, I'm actually thinking, 'We're going to this huge stadium.' We never really played in a stadium like that. On the other hand, we're trying to block the stadium out and just think about Limestone.''

Post has an exciting array of goal-scorers, led by East Coast Conference player of the year Cerar, who has 42 goals and 33 assists. Dave Loftus (41, 12), Dimler (27, 7), Nicholas Coric (21, 19), Joe Meo (17, 8), Mike Messina (17, 7) and Eddie Plompen (16, 10) form a high- powered offense. Post has outscored its opponents 15-6 and has received excellent goaltending from Daniel Sciulla.

Limestone counters with Brendan Storrier (31, 16) Thomas Langan (30, 3) and Mike Poerstel (25, 6). St. Anthony's High School graduate James Tuohy will be in goal for Limestone.

The Pioneers realize the opportunity at hand. "We know if we win this game, we're definitely where we want to be, playing for a national championship,'' Cerar said. "That is what everyone looks forward to: playing on a stage like that and putting C.W. Post on the map.''

Limestone (10-3) vs. C.W. Post (13-1)

Time: noon

Location: C.W. Post Hickox Field (FieldTurf, capacity 5,000)

Tickets: $5 adults, $3 students, $1 children under 12.

Radio: WCWP 88.1

Webcast: ncaa.com