The last 10 minutes of the game wasn’t nearly as intense as the first three quarters. The crowd of royal blue knew the Cabrini lacrosse team was taking home their championship title.
Cabrini fans came through to show their support for the Cabrini men’s lacrosse team at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, May 26, as they played against the Amherst Mammoths in the 2019 NCAA Division III lacrosse championship game before an estimated crowd of 18,000.
According to CabriniAthletics.com, this was both Cabrini and Amherst’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA title game, which put a lot on the line for both teams.
What started as a 0-2 score with Amherst in the lead became a back-and-forth intense game of scoring for both teams, leaving the teams tied 6-6 at halftime.
With great positivity even before the game started, Cabrini’s true colors shone through. Many fans agreed that whether they win or lose, it was still a big accomplishment to see their school out on that field.
“Win or lose,” Noel Faragalli, senior psychology major and biology minor, said. “We’ve made it so far and I can’t be more proud to be in the crowd cheering them on right now! Roll Cavs, baby!”
The Cavaliers were able to pull through in a 16-10 lead and ended with 16-12 final score.
“The game was awesome, back and forth for the first half, but Cabrini pulled away the second half,” Andrew Sennett, 2019 graduate marketing major and sports management and human resource minor, said. “This right here shows why they deserve to be national champs!”
This is the men’s lacrosse team’s first championship win. Many students, faculty, alumni, and even Cabrini’s president, Donald Taylor, were there to witness this moment first hand at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Being a part of this crowd when we won right, is such an emotional moment. Look! Everybody is either cheering, screaming or crying. I was already proud to call myself a Cavalier but at this moment, that feeling was even greater,” Julia Taylor, junior criminology and sociology major with a gender and body studies minor, said.
The game being held at the stadium in Philadelphia made it easy for people to come show their love for the men’s lacrosse team, making a strong statement at the game.
“My initial reaction was excitement knowing that it was their first trip to the championship and that it would be in Philly,” Sennett said. “It was awesome being able to go right into Philly to watch this game. It’s almost like being at a home game with how many people were wearing Cabrini blue and getting really loud with different chants. Overall, it’s an exciting and fun atmosphere to be in and it was awesome to get to share that experience with a lot of other Cabrini students.”
While there was a lot of passion on the field, looking at the crowd of five full sections of Cabrini fans compared to the two full sections of Amherst fans, you could tell by the emotion and support that Cabrini coming home with this championship was the only option.
The last minute of the game was filled with excitement and kinship as the team ran across the field as champions. People were spotted hugging and cheering and at that moment, the Cabrini family was closer than ever as the team and university were handed their NCAA trophy.
“Congratulations to the guys! You all did amazing and should be very proud,” Taylor said. “Roll Cavs!”
