After photographing numerous Massachusetts women’s lacrosse games this season, I was always drawn to watching the bench after a Minutewomen goal. With UMass averaging 16 goals per game at Garber Field, there were plenty of unique bench celebrations to keep the team energized and having fun.
Graduate goalie Bridgette Wall leads most of the celebrations. Whether it’s by running up and down the bench with the UMass flag or getting the whole team involved, Wall is one of the biggest hype women for her teammates.
“I think for them they just have so much fun, and the team feeds off that energy, so it’s just so exciting,” head coach Jana Drummond said. “I should say, my favorite one is when they do the pyramid and [Paris Melberg] is on top and just cheering from there on the top of the pyramid.”
- Human Pyramid
I must agree with coach Drummond; the human pyramid is by far the best bench celebration I’ve seen all season. It’s creative and not always easy to execute, especially on the sidelines of a lacrosse field. With Melberg on the top of the pyramid, a teammate hands her a stick to cheer with while everyone else smiles and has a good time.
- Bench Press
The first time I saw this, I couldn’t identify what the sideline crowd was cheering at. Once I moved to the far sideline, I realized that it was sophomore Cat Lucus pretending to bench press her stick. Wall acts as the bench and freshman Katie Onderdonk is the spotter, while the rest of the team is circled around cheering. I love the creativity of this celebration, but considering a spectator can only tell what is going on if they are across the field or have an overhead angle, I couldn’t give it the number one spot.
- Bowling
After going back and forth between the second and third places, I decided to rank bowling after the bench press, although bowling does include more of the team. Wall acted as the bowling ball, and one of her other teammates or an assistant coach would give her a push towards 10 of her teammates standing as the bowling pins. When Wall made contact, everyone fell to the ground. I’ve always been a fan of the bowling celebration, and it is a great way to get more of the team involved as opposed to just a few people.
- Basketball Dunk
Seeing Wall holding up one of her teammates with her arms out in a circle and Jeilinne Bonilla jumping and dunking was one of the more unique celebrations I’ve seen this season, and it’s definitely a fun one. The only downside is that it doesn’t involve many players.
- Limbo Line
Having a limbo line is classic. It’s simple, includes everyone on the team, and it’s just a fun way to celebrate a goal. The Minutewomen dance as they walk under the lacrosse stick acting as the bar, and it is a contagious celebration that goes along with the goal music.
Honorable mentions:
Kick Line
After a UMass goal, all the Minutewomen on the bench stood in a line and danced the traditional Rockettes kickline.
Waving the UMass flag
A fan attending a UMass women’s lacrosse game won’t get the full experience until they see Wall waving the flag on the sidelines.
Stick Wave
This was a celebration that everyone could be a part of, as the full bench lined up and did the wave with their sticks. It almost made the top five, but tends to be a go-to for most teams so it just fell short based on uniqueness.
Devin Lippman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @devinlippman.
