Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/24/23
From Press Release
Conferring arguably the most prestigious honor that can be bestowed upon a Sea Gull student-athlete, the Salisbury University men’s lacrosse team revealed at its national championship ring ceremony on Saturday that it has retired the No. 22 jersey of Appoquinimink (DE) grad Cross Ferrara.
Ferrara becomes just the sixth student-athlete in Salisbury history to officially have his jersey retired and the first since 2007. His framed jersey will join those of Jason Coffman (men’s lacrosse), Dave Cottle (men’s lacrosse), Andre Foreman (men’s basketball), Lacey (Lister) Lord (softball), and Stacy Stem (field hockey/women’s lacrosse) along the hallways of the Maggs Physical Activities Center, never again to be issued within his sport.
One of college lacrosse’s all-time great attackmen, Ferrara rewrote the Salisbury and NCAA record books from 2018-23. The Greenville, Del. native set new program records with 362 career goals and 473 points in 108 career games, climbing to second on the Division III all-time leaderboard in both statistics.
Ferrera was a two-time All-American, All-State, and All-Delaware Phillylacrosse selection who led Appoquinimink to the 2016 state finals.
Amongst his bevy of awards, Ferrara made the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America First Team three times (2021-23), earned USILA National Attackman of the Year twice (2021-22), and captured USILA Iroquois National Outstanding Player of the Year in 2021. He was also named to the Tewaarathon Award watchlist three times, cementing his place among the best players across every division of college lacrosse.
Ferrara helped drive the Sea Gulls to five NCAA Tournament appearances, three trips to the tournament finals, and the 2023 national championship. In his final career game on May 28 at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, Ferrara scored three goals with one assist, earning National Championship Most Outstanding Player honors and guiding Salisbury past Tufts, 17-12.
Ferrara’s jersey was officially retired on the same day he and his teammates received their 2023 national championship rings. The Sea Gulls finished the season 23-1, winning 20 straight games en route to their record-tying 13th national title in program history.
At Salisbury University, official student-athlete jersey retirements are extraordinarily rare. In addition to serving as a member of his or her varsity team with honor and distinction, as well as meeting all university baccalaureate requirements and exhausting all athletic eligibility, the student-athlete must be recognized for excellence by regional and national organizations, such as earning at least one All-America title. Moreover, he or she must be considered the single-most dominant student-athlete of the era not just at SU but within his or her entire sport.
