Lady Cavs repeat as PAC champs

by Brian O'Connell

sports editor it was evident that the Lady Cavs were not happy with the first half.

It was a season of almost all wins and hardly any losses. It was a season of tears, laughs, smiles and hard work. It was also a season to celebrate because, for the second year in a row, the women's lacrosse team won the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship. The Lady Cavs defeated Eastern College in a classic come-frombehind win (15-8) last Saturday at Cabrini.

The Lady Cavs started out trailing 4-3 in the first couple minutes of the first half.

Both teams fought hard for possession of the ball, but it appeared that Eastern was just a step closer,which allowed them to gain momentum throughout the first half. However, the Lady Cavs would not give up as they continued to fight and stay with their arch-rival.

They probably could have been down a larger deficit, but sophomore goalie Christy Malone was once again brilliant in goal with six tremendous saves.

The second half featured the Lady Cavs team that fans had seen all season. They

"Theytruly are champions."

Jackie Neary, Womens Lacrosse head coach

players were thrown out of the game for hitting. The Cavs then proceeded to play their game as senior Jess Valerio and sophomore Heather Stinger deposited the last two goals to give the Lady Cavs the win.

scribed Neary as "being a mother to all of us." Photographs were then taken of the team and the seniors.

''This really feels good," Valerio said.

''This is euphoric," Seeds said.

Maiocco

was named one of the MVP's of the PAC title game

Cabrini got as close as one goal in the first half at the 7:38 mark. However, Eastern countered that answering with a goal of its own to take a 6-4 half-time lead. As the half wound down to a lose, wasted no time in scoring as they cut the Eastern lead to 6-5. The team was more energetic and hustled much harder to the ball. However, the turning point of the game took place when senior captain Jess Valerio scored to tie the game at the 21 :56 mark. and then added to her goal total by giving the Lady Cavs the lead 7-6 with 20:46 left to go in the contest. The nearly 100 Cabrini fans on hand saw what was happening and continued with their strong support that they gave the team all season. After they took the lead, the Lady Cavs never looked back as they pulled away from Eastern and quickly extended the lead to 10-6 on goals by sophomore Heather Stinger and junior Leslie Kerrigan. Sophomore Christy Malone continued to make big save after big save as she wiped out any hopes of an Easter comeback. Frustration began to set in as two Eastern

Then, the celebration began. As the clock read all :zeros, the Lady Cavs rushed the field hugging one another and congratulating each other on yet another memorable season. Champagne added to the celebration as the players popped the bottles open and sprayed each other with the champagne. Third-year head coach Jackie Neary was drenched with water from a Gatorade cooler. T-shirts were given to the team for their outstanding season. The shirts were especially sweet because the back of the shirts read, "So nice we did it twice."

Awards were also presented for Most Valuable player for the championship series. For Cabrini, freshman Adrienne Maiocco and senior Jess Valerio were presented with their MVP plaques recognizing their bard work and dedication.

"It feels great to win the championship two years in a row, and especially this year with the comeback win today," head coach Jackie Neary said.

After the presentation of the MVP awards, a tearful but thrilled senior captain Amanda Seeds took charge of the celebration by thanking everyone for coming out to support the team. She then presented the coaches with flowers and thanked them. She was especially emotional while thanking Neary. In her thank you speech, she de-

This was a great way to finish a career here at Cabrini. I am absolutely thrilled we won, but at the same time I am very sad to go because I love this."

This will definitely be a season to remember because of all of the hard work and dedication the Lady Cavs gave all year.

"I am so proud of this team," Neary said. 'They truly are champions."