It was what had to be one of the most exciting NCAA national championship games to be played this year in any sport at any level, and a Forest Hills resident had one of the best views.
Paulette Cutruzzula, a 2006 graduate of The Ellis School, was an honorable mention all-conference selection on defense for the Franklin & Marshall team that won the NCAA Division III women's lacrosse national championship.
The Diplomats defeated Salisbury (Md.) University, 11-10, by scoring with 1:02 left in regulation to tie the score and then again 2:42 into overtime to win the title on May 17.
Salisbury was the only team to beat Franklin & Marshall (21-1) this season (10-9 on March 29), and it was also the team the Diplomats defeated in the 2007 national title game. Cutruzzula also was a member of that team.
"It still really hasn't sunk in yet," said Cutruzzula, a junior. "Everyone is still kind of getting used to the fact the season is over. There's a lot of excitement. It hasn't really hit us yet."
The lacrosse team became the first at the college to win multiple national championships.
The national title game, played in Salem, Va., featured eight ties and six lead changes, and neither team led by more than two goals at any point.
It was the kind of national championship game in which any player would be happy to be able to say she took part.
"Especially against that team," Cutruzzula said. "That was another really close game the last time we played them, and I think everyone knew we could beat them this time. Everyone stayed with it into the final minute, the whole team. No one doubted we could come back."
Cutruzzula started every game this season for Franklin & Marshall, which is located in Lancaster, Lancaster County. She was third on the team in caused turnovers (18) and second in ground balls (40). Cutruzzula, who has started the past two seasons, was a reliable member of a defense that ranked second in the nation in goals-against average (6.67) this season.
Cutruzzula, who majors in Latin with a focus in pre-med, also plays for the Diplomats' field hockey team, for which she was named a captain for next season.
At The Ellis School, she played four seasons and was the Tigers' most valuable player as a senior midfielder. She also played for the school's field hockey and basketball teams.
At Ellis and Franklin & Marshall, Cutruzzula played with her older sister, Julianne, a 2004 Ellis School alumna who graduated from Franklin & Marshall and is an assistant coach at Flint Hill School in Virginia.
Franklin & Marshall has played in the national championship game in each of the past three seasons and Cutruzzula wants nothing more than to be able to leave the school having played for a national title each of her four seasons.
"I think we have a pretty good chance," Cutruzzula said. "We have a few starters returning. We had 10 seniors, who had been the core of the team, but we brought in 12 freshmen this year and they're all really talented. We have a good chance of being strong again with all that we have coming back."
First Published: June 4, 2009, 8:00 a.m.