Inside the Last Ride: A Firsthand Account of Cabrini's Final Season

There were a lot of emotions walking out onto Edith Robb Dixon field Sunday, January 21. Massive piles of snow surrounded the perimeter of the turf, serving as amplifiers for the early afternoon sun. The sound of cleats colliding with the concrete echoed around our quiet campus, combined with the screams and hollers from 27 guys chomping at the bit to get the season started.

The energy all day was palpable, as it usually is on day one of a long journey. But for our group, it meant more. This wasn’t just the first day of practice. It was the official beginning of our last ride.

After we finished going through our stretching and warm-up routine, graduate captain PJ Hewitt brought us up to talk before we hit the ground running. We stood around midfield in a circle with everyone’s arms around each other. PJ looked us all in the eyes and reminded us of the journey it took to get there.

Almost six months to the day, we woke up to the news that our school would be closing at the end of the year. Through all the unknowns, twists and turns, our roster slowly dwindled down to the group decked out in brand new gear, wearing “Cabrini” across their chests on that frigid Sunday morning.

Not a lot of people thought that we would be here, and that’s why we had to realize how special that moment was. We say it all the time now, but we can’t take any of these days for granted anymore.

“This thing is going to fly by,” PJ said, and at that moment, we all had to be onboard for the trip of a lifetime. When the clock struck 10 a.m. and Coach [Tommy] DeLuca blew his whistle, the train had left the station. With no chance to turn back, we took off, full speed ahead.

In previous years, our preseason schedule typically consisted of three full weeks of practices (Monday-Friday) with two scrimmages at the end of weeks two and three. This year, due to a variety of circumstances, we only had one scrimmage on the schedule with 17 practices to prepare.

The first week passed in the blink of an eye. The biggest question everyone had going into the spring is how we would be able to manage the load on our bodies with such a limited roster size, but through the first few days, we were all pleasantly surprised at how everyone was holding up.

The training room at Cabrini has become an extension of our locker room, with our athletic training staff hearing more than enough about the stories that float around a college lacrosse team. Everyone understands how important it is to be proactive about injury prevention. It only takes a few guys not being able to practice to throw off our plan and make it challenging to do some of the drills. The real test for our group is going to be how well we manage our recovery and stay away from serious injuries.

We finished up week one strong with a competition Saturday that our coaching staff has been able to mix in periodically without the ability to do a full intrasquad scrimmage. The team was split up into white and blue, and score was being kept for every drill. The competitive juices were flowing for the full two-and-a-half hours we were on the field, and it allowed us to go into the second week feeling confident that we were building to where we wanted to go.

That second Monday practice of the year is typically when a new phase of the season begins: the dog days. As energetic as everyone is during week one, the real challenge comes bringing that same level of juice for week two. And with no scrimmage at the end of the week to add extra motivation, the only job we had was to focus on making ourselves better every day.

The theme of this week was again white versus blue, but not quite the same as the previous Saturday. Instead of teams that were intermixed with different positions, it was just offense against defense. Drill after drill, we battled in every way possible. Ground balls, settled offense, unsettled offense, man-up and man-down. As tight of a group as we’ve become off the field, the second we stepped on the turf and practice began, everything went out the window. Goals were scored, turnovers were forced and both sides were pushing each other to their limits.

By the time we cleared the field at the end of the week, we understood better than ever that this journey would be a marathon. We got a solid start to the race, but holding our pace would be crucial as the calendar turned to February. And there was a perfect opportunity to see what we were capable of staring at us in the distance.

Week three finally brought us a chance to go against another jersey. Nothing is better than walking into the locker room and seeing our gameday clock counting down the days until Saturday’s tilt against Franklin & Marshall. Besides the new goal at the end of the week, the daily grind remained, and there was still plenty of work to be done.

Where our team has benefitted most since coming together in the fall has been the creativity of our drill selection. Drills that became core features of our practices for decades become more difficult with only 27 guys. But our coaching staff has taken that challenge head on. Not only have they adjusted practice staples accordingly, but we’ve also been introduced to brand new drills that have quickly become our favorites.

Everything we did throughout the last few weeks finally came to a climax as the Diplomats visited Edith Robb Dixon field. Faceoff was set for 2 p.m., and one of my favorite parts of game days is hanging out with the guys in the locker room as the anticipation and excitement builds. These moments have become extra special this year, knowing that every passing day is one day closer to when we won’t have the opportunity to connect to the speaker and blast music before a big matchup.

Coach DeLuca kept things simple before the game, reminding us that we can’t forget how lucky we are to have an opportunity to compete. He mentioned how he would do anything to be in our shoes right now getting ready to play, and we can’t take these moments for granted.

In the calming moments before the opening whistle, I took my own moment to be present and reflect on the journey we all took to get here. It’s been a rollercoaster the last six months, and being able to take the field felt so rewarding. The reason we get to practice in the freezing cold, squeeze in lifts during a busy class schedule, and sometimes spend a little extra time in the ice bath is because all 27 of us believed in something bigger than ourselves.

By the end of the 60-minute battle, there was a lot we were able to take away. As with every preseason scrimmage, it was far from perfect, and leaving the locker room, our entire team was aware that this season was not going to be a cake walk. Nothing is going to be given to us, and every opponent we face this year will bring their best against us. But at the end of the day, that’s what we all signed up for. None of us expected this to be an easy journey.

We break almost every huddle with a word that has been synonymous with the 2024 Cabrini men’s lacrosse team: together. None of us would be able to take on this challenge alone. And our strength as a group is what will help power us through an unprecedented season.

With the preseason behind us, all eyes are on the opening weekend where everything starts to count. It’s also another grain of sand dropping in the hourglass. Our time as a group is limited, waning by the second. It’s easy to look ahead and think about the big games on our schedule, the national championship being back in Philadelphia, the potential storybook ending we could have for our program. But looking ahead would be a disservice to the fun part about this journey. The cliché saying goes that it’s not the destination that matters in the end. The steps we take along the way and the challenges we face will be what defines this group.

There are a lot of eyes on us this year. That can be seen as both good and bad. Regardless, we’ve been focusing on managing the things within our control. It’s never been about the media attention; it’s always been about working as hard as we can for the person next us. Just as we’ve been saying from the beginning, none of us are taking this on alone.

There’s only one way we’re going to accomplish all the goals we have set: doing it together.