By Nolan Weber
CORTLAND, NY – The Cortland men’s lacrosse team is reaching the end of their season, and for some on the roster, the end of their lacrosse career forever.
There are 22 seniors and 2 graduate students on the roster, making up a third of the team. A lot of the students have gained a lot of value from being on this team, and the fact that it is coming to an end can be very surreal.
Defensive midfielder Miles Kane said that his life is better because of his time on the Cortland men’s lacrosse team.
“As a student athlete, I had to learn how to balance school and athletics,” said Kane. “Time management becomes a priority as a student athlete and I think that will carry on after graduation.”
Attack player Caden Yancey said that the team has taught him so many great skills and life lessons that will help him in life after graduation.
“I learned more about hard work, the importance of consistency, and showing up and giving your best effort even when you don’t feel like it,” he said.
Image from Cortland Athletics
This hard work helped the Red Dragons claim the SUNYAC regular season title against Oneonta on Senior Day.
On Saturday, Cortland ended up beating Oneonta 21 to 7, a victory honoring all of the seniors on the team.
“We are very happy to have had such a great game on our senior night. Victory is always great, especially on a night that is so special to the seniors, because we have truly developed a great camaraderie,” said defensive senior Christian Lembo. “We were also very thankful that the victory led us right into a great gathering, prepared by all the parents, and we feel very fortunate for all that they have done for us. We are going to use this momentum to keep us rolling into the playoffs.”
No matter what happens next for Cortland, the seniors were able to have a climactic moment towards the end of the season to propel them into their futures.
The seniors are set on a variety of different paths for after they graduate, with athletes like Caden Yancey aiming to find a social studies teaching position back home while obtaining his masters degree at Cortland, and Miles Kane is pursuing a career in law enforcemnt. Both of them plan on becoming coaches for the generation of lacrosse in the future as well, meaning the principles of the Red Dragons will be carried on into the youth of tomorrow.
“It really does go by in the blink of an eye,” said Yancey. “You want to be able to leave this place knowing you gave it your best effort every chance you got, and you left it all out on the field.”