That emotion, overwhelming to some, is to others the secret to Knobloch's unprecedented, relentless success.
"Win or lose, this program is always going to keep fighting," senior goalie Bridget Bianco said. "Mrs. Knobloch wouldn't let anything else happen."
Through a season filled with highs and lows, Bianco's point is almost impossible to argue.
This was the year the Moorestown team was supposed to fall from grace. The sting from last year's loss in the South Jersey Group 3 final was supposed to carry over. The Quakers graduated 13 seniors in 2010 - 12 are playing lacrosse in college, and one is playing field hockey.
Four freshmen were forced into regular playing time for Moorestown this season.
If there was ever a year when the odds were stacked against the Quakers, this was it.
But there's an air about the Moorestown program, cultivated during Knobloch's 20-year tenure as head coach, which says "rebuilding seasons" simply aren't an option.
"We were a young team and we had kids [contribute] from every single class," Knobloch said. "And they all came together and they all worked so hard all year. . . .
"I'm extremely proud of this team and all they've accomplished this year. I could not have asked for a better team. I absolutely love every girl in this program. And it was a fun season for us."
Knobloch's resume is like a mantra in New Jersey high school girls' lacrosse: 399-29-4 career record, 10 consecutive T of C titles from 2000-2009, 228-game in-state winning streak.
Only a track record like that could raise questions over whether Moorestown's 2011 season was a disappointment.
The Quakers finished 22-4, won a Group 3 state title, and advanced to the finals of the Tournament of Champions - a cause for celebration for most other programs.
But, as much as the team wanted to win that final game, none look at this season as a disappointment. If anything, Moorestown proved as much this season as in any of its T of C title runs. And thanks largely to their coach, the Quakers fully expect to keep fighting and to be right back in the same position next season.
Knobloch "has helped me, so much, to grow as a player and as a person in the four years that I've been here," Bianco said. "I will definitely always look back to her and talk to her as I go on into my college years. I mean, she's a coach and a friend also."
Contact Chris Melchiorre at rallysports@phillynews.com.
