War on the Shore

War on the Shore

Sport	Lacrosse
Teams	Salisbury University Washington College
First meeting	April 6th, 1974 Washington 16, Salisbury 11
Latest meeting	April 15th, 2023 Salisbury23, Washington 9
Stadiums	Roy Kirby Stadium & Sea Gull Stadium
Trophy	Charles B. Clark Cup
Statistics
Meetings total	55
All-time series	Salisbury, 35-20
Largest victory	Washington, 24-4 (1986)
Longest win streak	Washington, 12 (1982-1990) Salisbury, 12 (2003-2012)
Current win streak	Salisbury, 9 (2014 - Present)

The War on the Shore is the annual Men's Lacrosse game between rivals Washington College and Salisbury University. These two schools are located on Maryland's eastern shore and are just 82 miles (132 km) apart. This game is nicknamed "The War on the Shore" because they are two major colleges on the eastern shore of Maryland and the close proximity creates a natural rivalry between the schools. This Division III game is played every spring and is considered one of the most anticipated games of the year in lacrosse.

Charles Branch Clark, a 1934 graduate of Washington College and lacrosse coach at both schools, has been called the "tie binding the lacrosse traditions of both schools." After Clark's passing in December 2003, the Charles B. Clark cup was named in his honor and has since been awarded annually to the winner of the war on the Shore. The game between these two teams draws several thousand fans each year earning this game the title "The Biggest Little Lacrosse Game in America."

The Shoremen and Sea Gulls have faced off 53 times, with Salisbury leading the overall series 35-20, since the series began in 1974, including 10 times in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The competition did not occur in 2020 or 2021 amid both universities closing for the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in 2022.

From 2002 to 2012, the Sea Gulls of Salisbury had won 10 straight games over the Shoremen of Washington until the Shoremen broke the streak with a 7-6 victory in 2013. Each game is played either at Roy Kirby Stadium on the campus of Washington College or Sea Gull Stadium on the campus of Salisbury University.

Results

Salisbury victories

Washington victories

Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	April 6th, 1974	Chestertown, MD	Washington	16–11
2	April 30th, 1975	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	10–8
3	April 28th, 1976	Chestertown, MD	Washington	13–10
4	May 5th, 1981	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	20–15
5	May 1st, 1982	Chestertown, MD	Washington	15–9
6	April 30th, 1983	Salisbury, MD	Washington	11–10
7	May 11th, 1983	Geneva, NY	Washington	19–7
8	April 21st, 1984	Chestertown, MD	Washington	14–7
9	May 13th, 1984	Geneva, NY	Washington	13–8
10	April 28th, 1985	Salisbury, MD	Washington	16–6
11	April 19th, 1986	Chestertown, MD	Washington	16–7
12	May 7th, 1986	Geneva, NY	Washington	24–4
13	April 18th, 1987	Salisbury, MD	Washington	18–7
14	April 9th, 1988	Chestertown, MD	Washington	14–6
15	April 29th, 1989	Salisbury, MD	Washington	13–8
16	April 28th, 1990	Chestertown, MD	Washington	14–12
17	April 27th, 1991	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	20–4
18	April 25th, 1992	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	22–8
19	April 24th, 1993	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	17–5
20	May 16th, 1993	College Park, MD	Washington	12–11
21	April 23rd, 1994	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	13–8
22	May 15th, 1994	College Park, MD	Salisbury	24–6
23	April 22nd, 1995	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	21–8
24	April 20th, 1996	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	23–11
25	May 18th, 1996	College Park, MD	Washington	11–10
26	April 19th, 1997	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	16–5
27	April 18th, 1998	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	24–11
28	May 17th, 1998	New Brunswick, NJ	Washington	12–10

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
29	May 1st, 1999	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	16–15
30	April 29th, 2000	Salisbury, MD	Washington	15–10
31	May 14th, 2000	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	21–9
32	May 5th, 2001	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	8–7
33	May 4th, 2002	Salisbury, MD	Washington	14–10
34	May 3rd, 2003	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	17–12
35	May 1st, 2004	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	21–7
36	May 23rd, 2004	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	13–11
37	April 30th, 2005	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	11–10
38	April 29th, 2006	Baltimore, MD	Salisbury	13–7
39	May 17th, 2006	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	8–4
40	April 28th, 2007	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	13–5
41	April 26th, 2008	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	15–11
42	April 25th, 2009	Chestertown, MD	Salisbury	12–11
43	May 8th, 2010	Salisbury, MD	Salisbury	12–7
44	May 7th, 2011	Chestertown, MD	#1 Salisbury	17–3
45	April 21st, 2012	Salisbury, MD	#1 Salisbury	17–5
46	April 17th, 2013	Chestertown, MD	#12 Washington	7–6
47	March 19th, 2014	Salisbury, MD	#2 Salisbury	12–7
48	May 18th, 2014	Salisbury, MD	#2 Salisbury	13–8
49	April 18th, 2015	Chestertown, MD	#10 Salisbury	23–5
50	March 16th, 2016	Salisbury, MD	#2 Salisbury	14–2
51	March 11th, 2017	Chestertown, MD	#1 Salisbury	14–1
52	March 17th, 2018	Salisbury, MD	#8 Salisbury	7–6
53	April 13th, 2019	Chestertown, MD	#1 Salisbury	15–142OT
54	April 9th, 2022	Salisbury, MD	#1 Salisbury	22–8
55	April 15th, 2023	Chestertown, MD	#2 Salisbury	23–9
Series: Salisbury leads 35–20

Sources: