Temple University Athletics
1984 Temple Lacrosse Team
Decade of Dominance: Looking Back on Three National Titles Won by Temple Lacrosse in the 1980’s
7.2.15 | Women's Lacrosse
Temple lacrosse boasts three national championships in program history, the most of any sport at the university. All three of those titles were earned in the 1980's as the team rose to the status of one of the sport's elite programs. Temple won the AIAW Championship in 1982 and went on to win NCAA Championships in both 1984 and 1988, with all three coming under head coach Tina Sloan-Green. In a three-part series, we look back on each championship during the Temple lacrosse team's "Decade of Dominance."
1984: Temple Lacrosse Wins Its First of Two NCAA Championships
In a decade of dominance in the sport of women's lacrosse, Temple University won three national titles as one of the elite teams in the 1980's. The NCAA began sponsoring a postseason tournament in the sport in 1982, and the Owls were victorious two years later, winning their first of two NCAA Championships in 1984.
The championship game was played at Boston University's Nickerson Field on May 20. Temple went up against Maryland, the same opponent they had beaten in 1982 for the AIAW Championship, and the Owls were victorious yet again by a score of 6-4. Temple senior Marie Schmucker was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after scoring the final three goals to lead the team to a come-from-behind victory. Schmucker, a two-sport All-American, was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.
The Owls trailed 4-3 with just under 10 minutes remaining before Schmucker's heroics took over. She was nearly thwarted at one point after receiving a yellow card, but used the adrenaline to score two more goals and hand Maryland its only loss of the 1984 season.
"I had a broken nose and wore a full-fledged mask to play," said Schmucker. "You do what you have to do to play the game. I also had a chipped elbow and my arm was all wrapped up."
The game was played 31 years ago, but Schmucker remembers it like it was yesterday.
"I think because of my mask, they thought it was ok to rough check me," she said. "Things were getting carried away. Maryland players were getting frustrated because we were slowly coming back. I was checked to the head, so blatant, but no call. Then in another situation I got too close and was carded, but we didn't serve a penalty for a yellow card then. Tina called a timeout and just said 'you girls aren't playing your game.' I think she took me out for two minutes. That woke me up...we continued to slowly came back and ended up beating them. We wore them down and we did it as an entire team. At the end of the game we were so excited, so elated, we were all in a fog that we had come from behind and won."
Temple was coached to both of its NCAA Championships by the legendary Tina Sloan-Green, who led the Owls to a 16-2 mark in 1984 including 12 straight wins to close out the season. Sloan-Green, a member of five Halls of Fame, was the head coach from 1973 to 1992 and was the first African-American head coach in the history of women's intercollegiate lacrosse. She led the Owls to three National Championships (including their AIAW title in 1982) and 11 consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances. She also coached Temple's field hockey team from 1974 to 1979.
The Owls' route to the NCAA title included a 16-7 win over Northwestern after a first-round bye. In the semifinals, Temple went up against Delaware, the team that had defeated the Owls in the 1983 NCAA Championship game. This time, Temple got revenge in decisive fashion with a 13-3 victory over the Blue Hens.
Future two-time All-American and National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee Kathleen Barrett-Geiger was just a sophomore in 1984, but scored for the Owls in the championship and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Another future First Team All-American as well as a Temple Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Chrissy Muller, was the Owls' starting goalkeeper in 1984 in just her freshman year.
Also scoring for the Owls in the title game was junior Sue Yeager, who provided Temple with offense all season long along with Barrett-Geiger, Schmucker, Monica Mills and Carol Schultz. Senior Sue Shirk was a defensive leader for the Owls, who also relied on Theresa Bono, Sharon Garber, Lise Dela Pelle, Sue Stimmel and Jackie Devenney.
"The seniors leave here as winners, and for that they can be proud," said Sloan Green, following the 1984 victory. "They know how to win and they have strengthened the program into something great, something that other teams around the nation have come to respect."
Schmucker and her fellow seniors concluded their careers with a championship trophy, something she has never taken for granted.
"As I reflect back now? It's history," she said. "People will say 'wow, you won TWO championships.' That will never go away. You savor that moment. I remember it like it was yesterday. I stay in contact with a lot of my teammates. We talk about it quite frequently, what a team we had. Everybody complemented each other somehow some way."
In 2008, Schmucker became a breast cancer survivor. She credits her college experience for getting her through treatment and staying mentally strong.
"When I was in treatment, I used it as a competition when I was going through it. If I had not played Division I athletics and gone through the injuries and gone up against such tough competition, I don't know if I would have made it. It's that mentality of being driven, being a DI athlete and that no one is taking you down and you're not going down without a fight.
"It's not about winning and losing, it's about lifelong lessons," said Schmucker. "It's a wonderful experience and such a great high, but at the end of the day it's about lifelong lessons. It's been a blessing, experiencing the championships and my teammates and the camaraderie we had."
Check back to OwlSports.com on Friday for part three of "Decade of Dominance."
1984: Temple Lacrosse Wins Its First of Two NCAA Championships
In a decade of dominance in the sport of women's lacrosse, Temple University won three national titles as one of the elite teams in the 1980's. The NCAA began sponsoring a postseason tournament in the sport in 1982, and the Owls were victorious two years later, winning their first of two NCAA Championships in 1984.
The championship game was played at Boston University's Nickerson Field on May 20. Temple went up against Maryland, the same opponent they had beaten in 1982 for the AIAW Championship, and the Owls were victorious yet again by a score of 6-4. Temple senior Marie Schmucker was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after scoring the final three goals to lead the team to a come-from-behind victory. Schmucker, a two-sport All-American, was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.
The Owls trailed 4-3 with just under 10 minutes remaining before Schmucker's heroics took over. She was nearly thwarted at one point after receiving a yellow card, but used the adrenaline to score two more goals and hand Maryland its only loss of the 1984 season.
"I had a broken nose and wore a full-fledged mask to play," said Schmucker. "You do what you have to do to play the game. I also had a chipped elbow and my arm was all wrapped up."
The game was played 31 years ago, but Schmucker remembers it like it was yesterday.
"I think because of my mask, they thought it was ok to rough check me," she said. "Things were getting carried away. Maryland players were getting frustrated because we were slowly coming back. I was checked to the head, so blatant, but no call. Then in another situation I got too close and was carded, but we didn't serve a penalty for a yellow card then. Tina called a timeout and just said 'you girls aren't playing your game.' I think she took me out for two minutes. That woke me up...we continued to slowly came back and ended up beating them. We wore them down and we did it as an entire team. At the end of the game we were so excited, so elated, we were all in a fog that we had come from behind and won."
Temple was coached to both of its NCAA Championships by the legendary Tina Sloan-Green, who led the Owls to a 16-2 mark in 1984 including 12 straight wins to close out the season. Sloan-Green, a member of five Halls of Fame, was the head coach from 1973 to 1992 and was the first African-American head coach in the history of women's intercollegiate lacrosse. She led the Owls to three National Championships (including their AIAW title in 1982) and 11 consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances. She also coached Temple's field hockey team from 1974 to 1979.
The Owls' route to the NCAA title included a 16-7 win over Northwestern after a first-round bye. In the semifinals, Temple went up against Delaware, the team that had defeated the Owls in the 1983 NCAA Championship game. This time, Temple got revenge in decisive fashion with a 13-3 victory over the Blue Hens.
Future two-time All-American and National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee Kathleen Barrett-Geiger was just a sophomore in 1984, but scored for the Owls in the championship and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Another future First Team All-American as well as a Temple Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Chrissy Muller, was the Owls' starting goalkeeper in 1984 in just her freshman year.
Also scoring for the Owls in the title game was junior Sue Yeager, who provided Temple with offense all season long along with Barrett-Geiger, Schmucker, Monica Mills and Carol Schultz. Senior Sue Shirk was a defensive leader for the Owls, who also relied on Theresa Bono, Sharon Garber, Lise Dela Pelle, Sue Stimmel and Jackie Devenney.
"The seniors leave here as winners, and for that they can be proud," said Sloan Green, following the 1984 victory. "They know how to win and they have strengthened the program into something great, something that other teams around the nation have come to respect."
Schmucker and her fellow seniors concluded their careers with a championship trophy, something she has never taken for granted.
"As I reflect back now? It's history," she said. "People will say 'wow, you won TWO championships.' That will never go away. You savor that moment. I remember it like it was yesterday. I stay in contact with a lot of my teammates. We talk about it quite frequently, what a team we had. Everybody complemented each other somehow some way."
In 2008, Schmucker became a breast cancer survivor. She credits her college experience for getting her through treatment and staying mentally strong.
"When I was in treatment, I used it as a competition when I was going through it. If I had not played Division I athletics and gone through the injuries and gone up against such tough competition, I don't know if I would have made it. It's that mentality of being driven, being a DI athlete and that no one is taking you down and you're not going down without a fight.
"It's not about winning and losing, it's about lifelong lessons," said Schmucker. "It's a wonderful experience and such a great high, but at the end of the day it's about lifelong lessons. It's been a blessing, experiencing the championships and my teammates and the camaraderie we had."
Check back to OwlSports.com on Friday for part three of "Decade of Dominance."
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