In the '76 championship between the Cornell Big Red and Maryland Terps at Providence, RI, the timekeeper, Kim Eike, who is now an administrator at U of Michigan, responded to Maryland assistant coach Dino Mattesich's appeal to blow the table air horn because of a substitution violation.  Kim fell for this last ditch ploy and set off the air horn with 6 seconds left in the game.  Then it was Maryland AA M Frank Urso to freshman A Greg Rumpf to tie the score and send the game into overtime.  At the first timeout in OT, our team huddled in the middle of the field to catch a breath while listening to Coach Richie Moran offer quick reminders and strategy.  Richie then asked if anybody needed anything.  Eamon McEneaney exclaimed that we needed sugar for some quick energy.  Anybody got any sugar?  Our guys were tired and cramping up.  Rick LaFrance, our stellar trainer, reached into his training bag and pulled out a hundred sticks of Big Red Chewing Gum, a brand that started anew that year and is still on the market.  Players stuffed the red colored cinnamon gum into their mouths and chomped viciously while assuming a rejuvenated, refreshed taste and physical perspective.  When we cleared the huddle, the air cracked with a sharp cinnamon scent, and Eamon, Mike French, and Jon Levine took over and scored 4 goals amidst a collection of discarded gum wrappers, and Cornell won the championship!

To me, my greatest accomplishment or the thing I am most proud of was being named captain for 2 years - my junior and senior years at Cortland State.  And watching coach Lelan Rogers turn the program around to being a legitimate national title contender.  Also having the opportunity to play with such skilled players as Justin Mendelson, Chris Osiecki, Derek Elvin, Steve Feltmann (who I'm telling you is THE BEST GOALIE in the country for D3 right now) and the great group of guys I played with, especially the last two years was an absolute thrill.  The team was so close those seasons, and a lot of that has to do with coach Rogers.  I am lucky that I have the opportunity to continue to see this team flourish as my brother is a freshman there this year.  Being selected to lead such a talented group of teammates by far outweighs any individual accomplishment I could ever make.  Maybe later on in my life I will reflect on high school and college better.  As for now, enjoy the upcoming season; it's gonna be a great one.

The game between New Rochelle and Hyde Park was expected to be another loss for our team due to the fact that we struggled in 2001 and finished the season with a 3-13 record.  So little was expected from us even though we were 1-1 for the 2002 season going into the game.  We arrived at the game late and got little warm-up time, so I felt I was at an immediate disadvantage.  Throughout the game we trailed by as many as 3 goals.  I was bombarded by shots because of the young, inexperienced defense we had.  But I felt myself clicking with my game.  Fourth quarter comes around and I'm immediately tested by a breakaway by a Hyde Park middie.  Luckily I managed to make the save.  We were down 8-6 with 1:30 to go, our coach calls timeout, and gives a heck of a speech, ending with him saying that if we came back in the game we would all get Taco Bell.  Let me tell you, we REALLY LOVE Taco Bell.  We immediately scored to make it a one-goal game.  Hyde Park won the next face off and instead of running down the clock, I guess they wanted another goal.  They got off a decent shot, but nothing special.  I got control of the ball and passed it up to a middie, and coach called another timeout.  We came out and scored the tying goal with 30 seconds left to head to overtime.

This was quite possibly the scariest moment of my life, a sudden death game and my shin was really swollen from a previous shot, when I realized I had to save everything for us to win.  I figured I was in a groove but I didn't know how much longer I could hold on to it.  Being the first overtime game of my career, I was extremely nervous.  Hyde Park won the faceoff and got a heck of a shot off, and I saw it hit the net (I'm thinking, "man, that was quick"), then I hear ref scream "no goal" as I realize it was on the outside of the cage.  Our team maintained control of the ball and eventually put the winner in the net.  What a relief.  I felt a bit neglected, though my teammates of course ran to Tom Freeman (the OT goal scorer) and picked him up on their shoulders.  Meanwhile, I'm standing in my cage all bruised and hurting, with no one congratulating me (the life of a goalie, I guess).  Our coach gave us a post-game speech and told us all we had a great game, then he came up to me personally and said, "You were the MVP of this game, Chuck".  Of course I said thanks, but I wanted my teammates' congratulations.  I got it eventually.  On the bus home, I fell asleep, and was woken up with someone putting a ball in my face.  The team signed the game ball and gave it to me with writing saying "New Ro 9 - Hyde Park 8, Chuck Byrne Game MVP".  I was very happy and still have the ball sitting on my trophy shelf at home.  But the point of the story is we didn't get Taco Bell.  Instead got McDonald's.  What's up with that?  We finished the year 13-4, best for a New Rochelle team ever.  Well, that's the story and thanks for including my name on the NYS Records list.  I am really excited about the opportunity to be on a list of such prestigious lacrosse players in New York State history.

We had won the Section II title the previous year and returned a solid nucleus of senior players.  However, we also had some younger, inexperienced players who were moving into key roles that season.  In the game against Columbia, we started off slow and at half time were only leading by a few goals.  Some of the senior captains including myself got on the team about our expectations for the rest of the team.  We exploded out for the second half and won going away.  In all honesty, I had no idea about the record (for points and assists in a single game for Shaker) until someone brought it up well after the game.  It was a great feeling but obviously unobtainable if those guys had not handled the ball and scored.

I didn't get to see Jimmy Lewis play, but sure did with the others, not in high school but in college.  My favorite story about Frank Urso was a game in Scott Stadium (I forget the year, but it might have been 1975 - it was an overcast dreary afternoon).  Rodney Rullman was playing goal for Virginia against Maryland, and Frank Urso took a shot from the outside (maybe 15-20 yards).  Rullman never saw the ball, but he sure felt it, because it lodged in the bars of his face mask.  He had to take the mask off to push the ball out.  I'm sure other players have had hard shots, but I can't think of any that did that.  Goalies were scared of Urso if he was shooting from the outside with a chance to wind up.