For over three decades, Carol Cantele has been looking ahead at the next great opportunity on the lacrosse field, all the while metaphorically and sometimes literally dancing alongside her student-athletes and colleagues on the sidelines. Cantele will keep her dancing shoes on for one final hurrah at the helm of the Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team as the Hall of Fame coach has announced her retirement following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
The decision did not come easy for Cantele, who has bled orange and blue since her days as a student-athlete under coaching legend Lois Bowers and then later as head coach of the lacrosse and field hockey programs.
"I have loved this career and have given it my all, my very best," said Cantele, who is in the midst of her 30th season at Gettysburg. "The time is right to pass on the whistle for another unproven young coach to experience the growth, development, relationships and challenges that this amazing profession affords. There is no better place than to experience these joys than at this incredible place called Gettysburg College."
Cantele's passion for Gettysburg began in the fall of 1979 as a freshman sweeper for Bowers and the field hockey program. Thirteen years later, she took over for her mentor and lifted both of those programs to new heights on the way to becoming a legendary leader of young women in the Division III landscape.
"I am eternally grateful for former athletic director, Chuck Winters for hiring me in the fall of 1992 and taking a risk with a young inexperienced coach," recalled Cantele. "In those early years I had great mentorship from incredible coaches at Gettysburg which continue today. The support and leadership from former Executive Director of Athletics David Wright, former Vice President Barbara Fritze and former President Janet Riggs made coming to work each day a joy and their vision for the institution was unparalleled."
"It is impossible to measure the positive impact that Carol has had on decades of Gettysburg women's lacrosse players over the course of her hall of fame career," said Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Mattia. "Not only do her teams have tremendous success on the field, but they also excel in the classroom, are involved in different clubs and campus organizations, and are involved in community service. She has been able to provide her players a playbook for success in all aspects of their lives well beyond graduation."
Cantele has few coaching equals in the sport of lacrosse. Over her three decades with the Bullets, the team has won nearly 80 percent of its contests with Cantele compiling a record of 431-112. The Bullets have been to the NCAA Division III playoffs 19 times since 2000, including a stretch of 18 consecutive appearances from 2002-19. In 2011, Gettysburg claimed the institution's first-ever NCAA Division III title by defeating Bowdoin 16-5. The Bullets repeated as national champions in 2017 and 2018, beating The College of New Jersey and Middlebury College, respectively. Cantele led Gettysburg to the first of its conference record 12 Centennial Conference championships in 2000.
Prior to arriving in Gettysburg, the Delaware County native was the head coach at Plymouth State University where she went 24-23 with the lacrosse team. In 34 years as a head coach, she has accumulated 455 victories, leaving her third all-time behind Hall of Famers Sharon Pfluger (541) and Cindy Timchal (535) among NCAA coaches.
Cantele, who also serves as Gettysburg's Senior Woman Administrator and Assistant Director of Athletics, compiled a school-record 121 coaching victories and five conference championships in 10 seasons with the Bullets' field hockey program. Barb Jordan has coached alongside Cantele as an assistant lacrosse coach since succeeding her at the field hockey helm in 2002.
"When I first arrived at Gettysburg we were colleagues, but we quickly became great friends through mutual experiences and background, and our love for coaching," said Jordan. "We have shared a lot of highs and lows together, both professionally and personally, and she has helped me become a better person. I can only hope I have had half the influence on her, as she has had on me. I am so grateful to have been a part of her program and life over the last 20 years. It has been a blast."
Cantele hasn't had much time for reflection on the past and numerous successes she has achieved, always maintaining a "live in the moment, prepare for the future" approach to life. She doesn't rest on past laurels and that has made her engagement with student-athletes before, during, and after their college experiences intimate and meaningful in unparalleled ways beyond the field of play.
"I am most proud of the relationships that have been built through this program," Cantele stated. "Not only have our players developed lifelong friendships, but our parents have continued to stay in touch with one another and continue to support the program. I am so grateful and proud of these special relationships with my players, coaches, alumnae, and parents that I am confident will continue. I am so proud of the incredible women within this program and the lives that they are leading now. Their impact on me has been immeasurable and I know that I have learned as much from them as I hope they have learned from me."
Outside of the student-athletes, Cantele has guided and developed young and aspiring women through the coaching ranks throughout her tenure. Many of her past assistants went straight into head coaching jobs after Gettysburg, including Kristen Stuckel at Muhlenberg College and Kate Fowler at Washington College.
"It's challenging coaching against Carol," said Stuckel, who also played for Cantele on the field hockey and lacrosse teams. "It's a bittersweet thing to coach against one of your mentors. I think what makes a great mentor is it's somebody that will not give you the answers, but will help you find your own answers and that's what she does. She listens, she supports, she inspires, she speaks with action, and those are all great things she continues to give to lacrosse and to everybody's lives that she's touched."
Current assistant coach Charlotte Cunningham is in the midst of her fourth season with the Bullets and has seen the team battle through the highs of winning a conference title in 2019 to having its 2020 and 2021 seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, Cantele has guided the student-athletes and her coaching staff through the rollercoaster ride with a unique style of her own making.
"What I think sets Carol apart is her passion and authenticity," said Cunningham. "She's passionate about people, and prioritizes relationships over everything. She makes people feel valued and heard. She is unapologetically herself and has so much passion for the game, for the team, for her family, and for life that seeps into the players and has become engrained into what makes Gettysburg lacrosse such a special program to be a part of."