#2 Cabrini Lacrosse A Dominant CSAC Force
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There are certain things that you can count on every April. Your taxes will be due by the 15th, an NCAA college basketball champion will be crowned and the Division III Cabrini College lacrosse team will be a dominant force in the Colonial States Athletic Conference.
The Cavaliers are 11-0 this season and Wednesday night's 25 to 4 win over Neumann University was their 99th straight win in Colonial States Athletic Conference action. They are ranked second in Division III.
The 11-0 start is also the best start in program history.
"The players have bought in," Cabrini head coach Steve Colfer told KYW Newsradio prior to the win over Neumann on Wednesday."They've had a really strong off-season, they worked hard. They came in ready, prepared from day #1, our first practice back in January. I just think it's a continuation of the things that we really subscribe to in the recruiting process when we're looking for players and then building our program here."
Colfer has already built quite a program. Since he became head coach in 2001, Cabrini has gone 194-50, won 13 straight CSAC titles and made 12 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Steve Colfer
As far as that incredible streak - 99 straight CSAC victories. The last conference loss came back in 2000 to Wesley. To put it in perspective, Bill Clinton was still president.
"We never actually talk about it," Colfer says. "I would say probably 99% of our room wouldn't even know the number."
But it is incredible. And it is approaching a record. The NCAA mark for consecutive conference wins is 102, held by Salisbury. The Cavaliers could tie the mark by the end of the regular season.
Despite the success and with history on the horizon, Colfer says a huge key for his team is treating every game the same.
"We prepare the same way in practice," Colfer says. "We do the same amount of film study, we do the same pre-game routine. And I really think that's the key to the approach. Obviously, the kids know if you are playing a ranked team or a big team that we've never played before is coming in or we're going on the road for the first time, there's a certain level, there's a human element, an emotion in that. And obviously wanting to be competitive, and put our best foot forward as an individual athlete and as a team and as a program. But I would bet a solid amount of money that most assistant coaches, players and maybe even me, wouldn't even know the number. It's not about that. It's about our approach each game and how we get ready and how we respect the opportunity to play that game that night."
Cabrini gets their next opportunity to play Friday night when they visit that aforementioned Salisbury squad down in Maryland.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
