Roller hockey team looking for support Recruiting athletes to become Cavaliers

MEGHAN HURLEY STAFF WRITER MLH722@CABRINI EDU

T he Cabrini College roller hockey team anticipates having one of their best seasons this year and would love for Cabrini fans to be there to support them. The roller hockey team is a club sport with 11 members that was started on campus seven years ago. The team usually has the most fans at their games, but this year, the numbers have been dwindling.

The team currently has three wins and four losses. Their next game is Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. against Drexel at the Marple Sports Arena in Broomall, Pa. The team is coming off a vicious double header against Philadelphia University and Neumann College, played on Nov. 13. The team lost to Neumann, but Mike Stevens, a senior sports fitness management major and the president of the club, said that it was, “one of the most amazing games this season,” and went into overtime with the final score of 7-6.

The team is sponsored through the intramural program at Cabrini with the help of Orlin Jespersen, the director of intramurals and recreation. Their coach, Nick Voight, volunteers to coach the team for free. The team practices at a rink in Deptford, N.J. that is owned by team member Mike Egan.

Egan, a senior business administration major and captain of the team, feels that “the underclassmen have stepped up in the early part of the season and it’s helping the team become stronger each game.” He runs the practices with the coach and, according to Stevens, is a strong leader for the team. Egan likes the enthusiasm that the fans bring to each game and really appreciates all the support they get. “In the past years we’ve been known to have loud and crazy fans, and we wouldn’t mind that to continue,” Egan said.

The roller hockey team is part of the Philadelphia Collegiate Roller Hockey League and also plays against teams from schools such as St. Joe’s, University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh. Last year, the team made it to the first round of the play-offs where they faced Drexel University but lost. This year, however, when they faced Drexel again, Cabrini was victorious with a 7-1 win.

Josh Foley, a junior finance major, is a forward and assistant c aptain for the roller hockey team. Stevens describes Foley as a“good talent.” Foley currently leads the teams in goals scored with 10 goals this season. He hopes the team can go into the winter break with a win and “give 110 percent to get into the playoffs this year,” Stevens said.

Stephen Hughes, a junior special education major and vice president of the club, is the goalie for the team. “Our team has the most talent out of any team in the league. We have a lot of skilled players and I know that we will do really well this year,” Hughes said.

Roller hockey is played on a surface known as a sport court. Each game is three 15-minute periods with a running clock.

There are no off-sides and the players rotate every few minutes. The league is a non-check league, but they are a physical team and have a strong presence in the league because of that. They are the most penalized team in the league, but Stevens doesn’t necessarily think that is bad. “Teams look out for us” because the team is not afraid to get physical, Stevens said. The guys can get pretty beat up and Stevens has even had his tooth knocked out.

The other members of the team are freshman Steve Mannino, a defenseman; junior Brian Prospero, a forward; junior Bob Quinn, a defenseman; sophomore Joe Zullo, a forward; junior Paul Loolio, a defenseman; graduate student Mike Casey, a forward and defenseman and junior Clayton Cottman, a forward.

Stevens feels that the team has a“tremendous amount of talent,” and “we have the potential to be a championship team.” For now, they are going to take it game by game and they realize that they have to get there first, before they can go further. If there are enough interested students, Stevens will organize a fan bus to transport people to the games. For more information, contact Stevens at mrs723@cabrini.edu.

Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story. Please send your comments to: Loquitur@yahoogroups.com. The editors will review your comments each week and make corrections if warranted.

DOMINIQUE MAUGERI GUESTWRITER DM722@CABRINI EDU

Scouting out potential players for Cabrini’s athletic teams is a very big task. The coaches need tomake frequent visits and watch the students play at their high school to see if they would be beneficial to Cabrini’s team. Coaches also visit camps during the summer to try and recruit players who may be interested in coming to Cabrini.

Associate Director of admissions Steve Colfer dedicates his time to not only being an admissions counselor but also to being the lacrosse coach. Being a coach takes a lot of time to guide the players and also help them improve their skills on and off the field, Colfer said.

There is also a great deal of pressure for the coach. He has to balance office life and being able to give the “guys” 100 percent support. Colfer is able to do both.

Inaddition to going out to recruit players, Colfer is also approached by potential students who want him to watch their tapes to see if they have enough talent to be a part of the lacrosse team.

Afterwards, Colfer will invite the student and/or parents to the campus for a tour by a student ambassador.After meeting with an ambassador, they will meet with a counselor to discuss any questions regarding their decision to enroll or not.

Colfer also sets up for the student to come up to campus and stay overnight. The student will room with a lacrosse player and be able to get a true sense of what it is like to be not only a lacrosse player at Cabrini but also a typical college student. They will eat at the cafeteria, go to study hall, social events, or even just for a daily workout. rfouarecordia[[yinvited toanItafian(Jourmet<Dinner

After the overnight visit, Colfer will continue to keep in contact with that student throughout their school year. Colfer said hefollows up with them during the early spring of their senior year of high school.

Cabrini’s lacrosse program has come a long way since the beginning, Colfer said. Before, the coaches had to do a lot of recruiting work to get students to come here to play, but now it seems things have changed. Students are now taking the initiative to see what needs to be done so that they can be a part of the lacrosse team. Colfer attributes the change to the success the lacrosse program has had. “More students are starting to identify themselves to Cabrini,” Colfer said.

Cabrini is now in the top 25 of Division III larosse programs in the country. Each year, however, the program is raising its standards more and more so that the college can have the best lacrosse team possible. At Cabrini, the sports teams are not just about sports, but also academics too. This is why all of the coaches, no matter what sport it is, stress the importance of getting a good education first. They assign study halls throughout the week so that they can make sure their players are keeping on top of their studies so that they are able to play when it comes to game time.

Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story.Please send your comments to: Loquitur@yahoogroups.com. The editors will review your comments each week and make corrections if warranted.

Interested in studying in (j{ome?

lFair T rac:lleChristmas Bazaar

Brought to you by: CRS Cabrini Ac:llvocacyGroup In support with Gfoba[Gifts on1uesdayevening, <Decem6er6tli,2005 at 8:15<J!<Jvf.

Monday, December 5th Jazzman's 11:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Convenient hoHc:llayshopping that c:lloesso much more.

Christmas is a time for giving. Through your purchase of fair trade products, you will be s pplying a producer with a fair wage. Give a gift twice!

New<]?JsidenceLounge,pt P[oor

Jfosted6y rtheStudyJ1_6roadOffice andtfte2005Ca6rinia[umsof tfte )1_mericanVniversityof<FJ)me

Preeof Cftarge - 7ick,Jtsrequired )1_vaifa6[e in PJ{ 367 orfromtfteseCa6rinia[umsof)1_V<J?.; JoftnPi,no,Laura,<Dawidziu~W.ariaLenaInterrante, 1(ristineJennings,)1_ndrewW.adonia