Inside the Last Ride: 'Burn 'Em'

If April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, then Cabrini might have the most beautiful garden in the country.

Mother Nature has certainly tested how much we can handle when it comes to the weather. A majority of our non-conference games were played in one of three conditions: cloudy skies with wind, off and on showers, or outright monsoon. Luckily, we never got to the point of weather problems canceling one of our games. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t thrown a wrench in our plans a few times.

Coming off a much-needed break around the Easter holiday, we returned back to campus to begin the third chapter of our season with conference play. Cabrini was a founding member of the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) back in 2018, and both our men’s and women’s lacrosse programs have been dominating since.

Conference play also begins the part of our season when the weekly schedule becomes more consistent. With games on Wednesdays and Saturdays, that leaves four days when we can work on building new skills or fine-tuning schemes. Creating a balance between competition while also keeping our bodies in the proper condition to play high-level lacrosse is a lot easier said than done, nonetheless with a roster of 27. Regardless, our mentality for the rest of the year was to remain focused on us. No matter who our opponent was, if we could play the best version of Cabrini lacrosse, we liked our odds against anyone.

We kicked off April and our final conference schedule with a short trip to Gwynedd Valley to face Gwynedd Mercy. As we loaded up the bus, we noticed some ominous dark gray clouds staring at us in the distance. A peak at the weather report showed that there was a storm about to go right over the Greater Philadelphia Area around the time of our opening faceoff. Still, we kept moving forward and went along with our pregame routine, business as usual.

And everything was going according to plan as we got ready to play. Was the rain slowly picking up every minute? Of course, but as a guy who grew up outside of Seattle, I’ve always known that a little rain has never hurt anybody (and I would like to say for the record, it does NOT rain every day in Seattle … depending on the season).

The game started on time, and we quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead. With the ball in our offensive end getting organized, everyone was thrown off when an official sprinted onto the field blowing his whistle. My immediate thought was that we went offside (which would never happen on Coach Camp’s watch), but instead the official was telling both teams to head back into the locker room. There had been a lightning strike in the distance, and we were going into a weather delay.

We trotted back into the locker room and sat patiently waiting for the storm to pass over. The delay started at 30 minutes, and every time another lightning strike was seen within a certain distance another 30 minutes would be added on. The task at hand had switched from playing a full 60 minutes of lacrosse to killing as much time as we could. And when stuck in a tight locker room with nowhere to go, leave it up to college lacrosse players to get creative with their entertainment. 

The Wi-Fi in the locker room was spotty, but it was enough to throw on some of the other lacrosse games happening around the country undisturbed by Mother Nature. Eventually we found a soccer ball hidden in the corner of the room, so a group of us naturally turned into FIFA stars and began juggling the ball around trying to keep it off the ground. This simple game turned into nearly an hour of kick saves and the ball nearly hitting every player in the locker room (intentionally or not).

After two hours, we finally got the green light that we could resume play from where we left off in the first quarter. The rain was still pouring down, with a bone-chilling wind adding to the fun. We were given a few minutes to get warmed up again, and then we went right back to work. It was a slow start to get our muscles back up to speed, but we were eventually able to leave Gwynedd Valley with a solid 19-3 victory, extending our decades long conference win streak.

The following Saturday was another important day in every lacrosse program’s season — senior day. This would be our final regula- season Saturday home game of the year, which gave us the chance to honor four guys who have left an indelible mark on our program. Coming into Cabrini with a freshman class of almost 20 guys, these four are finishing their careers as the university closes its doors. Through all the ups and downs, they remained loyal to Cabrini and will forever be remembered as our final senior class.

Our Senior Night game was a way to thank Sam Kirk, Julian Varona, Johnny McCormick and Tommy Vaughan. Part of the reason this year was possible is because they decided to stay on board and finish strong. The ceremony was quicker than in years past for obvious reasons, but it spoke to the dedication and journey that each player had taken throughout their unique four years. We put on a show for our senior class, jumping out to a 16-1 lead after the first half en route to a 25-4 final.

The best moment of the game came when Varona scored on a buttery smooth right to left split in the third quarter. Varona was dubbed “King Julian” during the fall, and ever since, it has been one of the best nicknames on our team. When Julian buried his lefty shot on the run, our entire sideline went crazy and guys on the field ran to swarm him in celebration. I made a beeline to him and presented the king with an imaginary crown. The smile on his face said it all. Scoring a goal is always going to be cool, but it means that much more when it happens on Senior Night. 

We kept cruising along and found ourselves playing on the road in Scranton, Pa., against Marywood. Once again, the weather was less than desirable, but something bigger happened during the game that spoke much louder than the final score.

With a favorable lead in the fourth quarter, we lined up for what seemed to be just another faceoff. McCormick won the clamp and popped it backwards, and graduate student Corbin Carraghan picked it up in a pretty routine ground ball. But after this play, our sideline erupted. My defender next to me was confused at first, and then I told him the story of everything Corbin has gone through to scoop up that ground ball.

Corbin has been a part of our program since 2019, and unfortunately, he was ineligible when the team won the national championship. He was finally able to play in 2020, but the season was canceled just a few games in. In 2021, he got to play the full year before tearing his ACL while playing box lacrosse over the summer. This put him out for the entire 2022 season and tested him with a tough road to recovery. He made it back for the 2023 season, being a key piece for our rope unit, and when the news broke about Cabrini over the summer, he was one of the first people to commit back to the team.

In a practice earlier this season, we were doing a drill, and he took a weird step and went down grabbing his knee. Everyone in that moment knew exactly what had happened. It wouldn’t be confirmed until a couple days later, but he had torn his ACL again. He got the official diagnosis while we were practicing on spring break, and it was gut wrenching to all of us. We knew that while he still had eligibility, this year would most likely be his last, and it hurt to see it end so fast.

But Corbin wasn’t going down without fighting.

He opted to not get surgery right away and went to work doing physical therapy and rehab trying to give himself a chance at returning. Around March, he got approval from doctors to do non-contact drills at practice, and as we got into April, he was cleared to compete 6-v-6 at his own discretion. The setbacks in his way didn’t matter; he was going to give everything he had for this team.

So, when he picked up that ground ball and completed a pass in that Marywood game, it wasn’t a routine play. It was months of emotions and hard work that culminated in a beautiful moment that I certainly will never forget.

Moments like that are what make this Cabrini team so special.

Before we knew it, conference play was finished and we had one game left on the schedule. Carrying an eight-game winning streak, we would host our final regular-season home game under Friday night lights. Our opponent: the No. 1 team in the country — defending national champion Salisbury.

We had a full week of practices leading up to the game, and it was setting up to be a massive crowd for the final faceoff between our two programs.

Playing in big games like that is what the Division III experience is all about. The anticipation sitting in your locker, shaking out the jitters during warmups and stepping onto the field knowing that you are going to battle for the next hour.

Regardless of the outcome, being present in these big games has been my focus all year. Taking in the sights and sounds periodically throughout the game is a mental reset when I can remember how lucky I am to be wearing a Cabrini jersey.

There are two outcomes when the final buzzer sounds: you either win or you learn. While Salisbury was able to walk away victorious that Friday night, we came back into the locker room, and captain Gerry Ulatowski made a comment about how we handled the game. In big games, emotions get high and things can go wrong with guys pointing fingers in the huddle. But through the ups and downs of the game, Gerry recognized that there was no infighting and our team stayed together the entire time. A small victory that, as we enter into postseason play, can be the difference in whether we accomplish all the goals we have.

With the conclusion of the regular season, we officially jumped into postseason play, when every game has the potential to be our last. Going into conference tournament games, we try to have the mentality of earning another day of practice. It’s something that we all take for granted, but with no guarantees in the future, it becomes something we all want more than anything else.

On Monday, we got a text from Coach DeLuca in our group chat that we would be watching film before practice. He made a point of saying that we would all meet in the locker room and walk up as a group with our gear on. Not thinking anything of it, we got geared up, waited for Coach and walked upstairs as a team. Coach stopped us right as we were about to turn into the film room and gave us a quick start about how our second season was about to begin.

We walked in to be greeted by brand new chrome silver helmets that we would wear for the rest of the season. Every detail has a meaning behind it, and we were all like kids in a candy store as we started adjusting our chin straps and checking ourselves out in the mirror. My favorite detail is what’s written on the facemask, a simple phrase that has turned into our identity this year: “Burn ‘em,” A reminder that the boats have to be burned, and there is no turning back.

Fun fact! The facemask was supposed to say, “Burn the boats,” but that was too long. I like “Burn ‘em” better, anyway.

Taking the No. 1 seed into our conference tournament, we cruised through the semifinals and clinched a berth into the championship game. The championship game wouldn’t just be the last one in our program’s history — it would be the last-ever Cabrini athletics event on Edith Robb Dixon Field. We would have the honor of being the final cleats to run up and down the turf that bore decades of All-Americans.

Our women’s lacrosse team was also competing for their conference championship right before us, and a bunch of us made sure to stop by to support them before getting ready to play. When I pulled into Cabrini, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The entire parking lot outside of our athletic center was full. There were tents all over the place where our tailgate was, and hundreds of Cabrini faithful were there to watch such a historic day.

The atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever experienced. When we walked out of the locker room to begin our warmups, the only thing I could do was smile. We took our lap around the field and our supporters went crazy as we ran by.

And going with the season’s storyline, our final game on ERDF would take place with gray clouds and rain dumping down on us.

The game was crazy, with our opponents doing everything they could to steal the glory of our final home game. When the final buzzer sounded, we captured our 23rd straight conference championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

As we stormed the field for the celebration, we were joined by the hundreds of family and friends who came to support us. It was an overwhelming experience in all the best ways.

After taking close to a thousand pictures with the trophy, I gathered my gear and escaped the mass of fans to make my way back into the locker room. Right before I stepped off the field I turned back to the field and took everything in one last time. There was so much love being shared for such a special place. A place that has done so much for me and somewhere that I will always call my home.

Now we turn our attention to the final chapter of this story as we move on to the NCAA tournament. Just as I’ve been saying that everything means more this year, the month of May is going to be full of emotions for everyone involved at Cabrini. Final exams are being completed, banquets are being held and we remain one of the lucky 38 teams that get to practice for the next week.

Time to put on our best attire for the big dance. The last dance. And hopefully, the most memorable one yet.