Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/23/18
From Press Release
Lacrosse has been a topic of conversation at the Hervada household for many, many years.
With a dad who played four years at Villanova, Chris and Jake Hervada always found themselves talking about the game they love at dinner, during holidays and pretty much any other time of the day.
That conversation has quieted a bit this week as Jake, a junior faceoff specialist for the Blue Hens, will take on the Monmouth Hawks Saturday at Noon in West Long Branch, N.J., the school at which Chris is a starting defenseman. Both brothers are graduates of The Haverford School.
“There was a few initial trash-talking texts back and forth early in the week, but we’ve pretty much left each other alone since then,” Jake said.
They will wear different jerseys on Saturday, but competition has been a mainstay in the Hervada household since Jake and Chris’ youth.
“We played everything really, but both of us ended up focusing heavily on wrestling and lacrosse the most,” Jake said. “Even though my dad played in college, lacrosse was never forced upon us. We were able to play whatever we liked the most, but we both really favored lacrosse.”
Although this will be the first official contest between the two brothers, there were plenty of backyard games outside the family house outside Philadelphia. The victor in those games?
“Oh, I definitely dominated him,” Jake said. “He’s a little smaller than me, so I usually tried to use the size advantage in those matchups.”
Jake has been a consistent force at the X for the Blue Hens since he arrived on campus, taking over 300 face-offs in his two-plus seasons. He’s been through the transition from high school to college, a transition that he’s tried to help Chris with as much as possible.
“Chris and I have always been close and I’ve tried to give any advice or help that he’s needed since he got to Monmouth, but he’s honestly had a pretty smooth transition,” Jake said of his brother who was an All-Phillylacrosse.com First Team pick in 2017.
The toughest part of Saturday may be for Jake and Chris’ parents, Enrique and Jennifer.
“I’m guessing they’ll go with a Delaware shirt and a Monmouth hat or vice-versa. But I think deep down they’ll be rooting for us more,” Jake said with a laugh.