Sitting beside Nestor when he made his postgame comments about her brought tears to Talbert, but she has been quick to deflect credit for the squad’s wellbeing to all of her teammates.
“We all played a part in checking up on each other,” she said. “It was all the upperclassmen having the backs of the younger players. The bonds we created on this team were special.”
Sometimes, the conversations indicated that a player might need off from practice for a mental health day. Other times, they resulted in connecting a teammate with an on-campus counselor.
“We did check-ins every week or two. ‘Who needs me? Is everybody good? If you need to take a break, take a break. If you need to see somebody, let me know,’” Talbert said. “We really wanted to focus on making sure everyone was healthy mentally and physically.”
The connections didn’t stop in the locker room or on the field. Talbert was the player who always pulled the offense together, or shared words of encouragement during water breaks at practice.
“You don’t have to have a ‘C’ next to your name to be a leader,” said Nestor, who joined National Lacrosse Hall of Famers Sharon Pfluger (TCNJ) and Missy Foote (Middlebury) as the only coaches to win four NCAA Division III titles.
As a product of nearby Eden, Md. with two older sisters — Katelin and Alissa — who also played at Salisbury, Talbert’s leadership role came naturally. She’d been around Nestor and the Sea Gull program long before she ever stepped foot on campus as a freshman.
“Growing up around Salisbury, I went to all of coach’s clinics, and I was probably annoying because I was there all the time,” Talbert said. “Being part of this program has shaped all three of us to be the people that we are.”
Oldest sister Katelin was a member of Salisbury’s 2013 and 2014 NCAA championship teams. Alissa was a senior in Julie’s freshman season of 2018, when the Gulls lost in the NCAA semifinals on the same field in Salem where they celebrated this year's title.
“Watching Alissa and Katelin, and seeing their heartbreak at times, has motivated me for four years,” Julie Talbert said. “This ring isn’t just mine, but it’s also Alissa’s. Changing memories from the past to this memory is pretty cool.”
This article appears in the Championship Edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.