By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/11/09
It’s not that Radnor middie/attacker Matt Cherry didn’t have scholarship offers to Division I schools.
But, instead, he chose to focus on academics and perhaps a chance to play a lot more at a solid Division III school. That’s why he chose Dickinson College.
“Originally, I wanted to go Division I, and in the beginning I was talking to Drexel, Rutgers, Fairfield and Vermont, as well as a couple others,” Cherry said. “Farifield offered a scholarship, which I really considered; and Vermont offered, too.
“I really wanted to go to Fairfield or Vermont, but I also was looking at Dickinson, Gettysburg and Salisbury. I was thinking, do I want to go to Fairfield or Vermont and not play for two or three years? Or do I want to go to Dickinson and get a great education and maybe play for three or four years?”
Cherry said the choice became clear when he looked at Dickinson’s overall academic reputation and program. He plans to study American Studies and perhaps pursue education or journalism.
“For me, it was all about academics,” Cherry said, noting he boasts a 3.2 GPA and has made Honor Roll four times at Radnor. “It came down to Dickinson and Gettysburg and Dickinson was the best one for me.”
Cherry feels many strong Division III teams can compete with some of the Division I schools.
“I feel like some of the Division III schools can win against the lower Division I schools,” he said. “And I feel like Dickinson is going in the right path.”
Cherry believes the Red Raiders also are heading on the right path for 2009. This year’s team returns most of its regular from a squad that won one playoff game last year, and Cherry is confident Radnor can contend for a Central League crown.
“We lost a couple seniors, and we did lose our goalie, which is a big loss,” said Cherry, a lefty who is known for his versatility on attack and at midfield. “But we have our whole offense back. The Central League is going to be really good this year, but I think we’ll be up there.
“The seniors have been playing together for so long. The off-season went well and we’ll go into the season already knowing where we play. I feel really comfortable with how the season is going to go.”
