Hall of Fame Spotlight: Marie Schmucker

A two-sport standout, Marie Schmucker was a three-time All-American while leading Temple to greatness in both field hockey and women's lacrosse in the 1980s.

Schmucker was part of two National Champion women's lacrosse teams, starting as a freshman on legendary head coach Tina Sloan-Green's first title, the 1982 AIAW Championship, and then earning Most Valuable Player honors while leading the Owls to the 1984 NCAA Lacrosse Championship. In that 6-4 come-from-behind win over Maryland in the title game, she scored the game's final three goals to help the Owls overcome a 4-1 deficit.

Schmucker, who starred at Ridley (Pa.) High, set the Temple record for career goals (211) and currently ranks third on the all-time list. Her best season was her senior year when she tallied 67 goals and 88 points, both ranked second at the time in school history.

As a center midfielder on the field hockey team, Schmucker also earned All-America honors while leading the Owls to 59 wins over her four-year career and two of the program's five NCAA Tournament appearances (1982, 1983).

She has coached both sports at the collegiate and high school levels since her graduation and currently is the head coach of both sports at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

Talk about why you decided to come to Temple?

"I had quite a few offers coming out of high school, including Penn State and Maryland besides Temple.

My dad was a custom builder, and he was also my coach and mentor. Every morning we would run before school. He was the one who pushed me (to excel). Due to his job, he could not get all the way up to Penn State which was a big factor.

People used to always say 'Why didn't you go to Penn State?'.   I would reply, it did not matter where I went as I was going to make a difference.   I chuckle when I hear the saying, 'I could have gone anywhere but I chose Temple.'

So, my dad was the main reason for choosing Temple and I have no regrets. He passed when he was 68, but it was nice that he was able to see all my games.
Another factor with my attending Temple was Linda MacDonald. She was my health and physical education teacher as well as my basketball coach at Ridley. The same year I went to Temple she took the women's basketball head coaching job at Temple. My freshman year, besides playing two sports, I travelled with the women's basketball team as a statistician and manager."

Talk about playing during the heyday of Temple lacrosse. The team won two national championships during your time.   How special was it.

"We had a phenomenal group of young ladies on both teams who really complimented each other on the field. It never mattered who scored the goal, we all scored the goal. That was our mentality. It was a total team effort.

I was very blessed and fortunate to be with the young ladies I played with Roni Pack, Sharon Garber, Sue Yeagar, Carol Schultz, Lise Della Pelle and Susie Chillano, Chrissy Muller, Monica Mills, Kathleen Barrett among others. We just meshed together.

I will never forget. We were at West Chester playing against Penn State in the 1982 semifinals. I wore a mask because I had broken my nose twice. One of the girls on our team was an art student and she would put flames on it. I remember (Penn State) questioned my mask going into the game, trying to get into my head. That really got my adrenaline going and fired me up. They were double and triple teaming me, but it did not matter how many girls were on me because it just allowed me to set up different situations as I was the play caller.

We all complimented each other.    We won that game 6-5 and then defeated Maryland for our first championship, 3-2."

On the Team's Mentality?

"Losing was not an option. That was our mentality and Tina (Sloan-Green) stressed that as did Sue Stahl (asst. coach). Tina would say, "We put our skirts the same way they do," It was just like a light bulb went off and we realized how great a team we really were.

I remember our senior year we were up in Boston. We were losing 4-1 (in the championship game).   In four years I had never been taken out of a game and Tina took me out.   I was being triple teamed. I remember her saying to me, "you need to just be you." I went back in a minute later and we won 6-4. I scored three goals and had two assists in the game. Maryland did not know what hit them.

They had already picked the MVP of the tournament, but when we won it was switched and I was named the MVP."

And now with Field Hockey, talk about your career on that team which excelled as well?

"Most of the girls that played lacrosse also played field hockey back then. So, we knew each other. The camaraderie was there. It was a great experience, great exposure but we never won a championship. We always made the tournament though and even hosted the NCAA Tournament at Geasey Field in 1982.

I played center mid on the team, so I played both offense and defense. Overall, it was a great experience. The coaching was great. Being able to get to the tournament all those times just says a lot."

What was your favorite sport to play?

"That is a tough one. I still coach both now. So, when it is field hockey season it is field hockey season and when it is lacrosse, it is lacrosse. I love them both.   Lacrosse is so different now. They have made it more like the men's game. When I played it was so free. You could run. Now you can kick the ball to your advantage. There is different strategy both as a coach and a player from when I was in college."

Following graduation, you went into coaching.   How rewarding has it been to impart your knowledge of the two sports you love to the next generation?

"I coached West Chester University right after college for three and a half years. So, I coached there and commuted from Mount Laurel (NJ). I finally landed at Hatboro-Horsham as the head field hockey and lacrosse coach in 1995, and also taught Health and Physical Education.

In 2008 I was out of school for about a year and a half as I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment for it.

I later took the field hockey co-head coaching position at Central Bucks South with Jeff Harding. We won the league and were district champs.

I eventually made it back to Hatboro-Horsham when the coaching positions reopened, first for lacrosse. And then two years ago the field hockey position opened back up and now I am coaching both.

I have fortunate to have had over 30 of my players go on to compete at the collegiate level."

Talk about your battle with cancer.   How difficult was it and did your competitive nature help you?
"I remember telling the doctor, 'I am sorry you must have someone else's chart."   Because we had no history (of cancer) in my family. I was working out seven days a week, living a healthy life, eating all organic foods. It just turned my whole world upside down.
I was persistent as I have learned you must be your own advocate. That started a long process where I went through month and months of chemotherapy and followed radiation along with multiple surgeries.
I treated the entire process like I was training for the U.S. National Team again. I took it head on and that was my attitude. I did not let it define who I was. I always looked for a positive and never said poor me.   I am alive and a lot of people who go through this are not. At the end of the day, I am very blessed and thankful.
My girls (at Hatboro-Horsham) made this wonderful video for me."

Temple University Athletics

Hall of Fame Spotlight: Marie Schmucker

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