BALTIMORE -- Nearly 2,000 mourners joined hands and lifted their voices yesterday morning, not in prayer but in a cheer, filling a cathedral with an inspirational chant once uttered by Yeardley Love on a lacrosse field.
Leading the cheer for the slain lacrosse player was Julie Myers, Love's coach at the University of Virginia, who helped celebrate Love's life in a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
Myers recalled fondly that the Cavaliers would take turns leading the pregame cheer, "1-2-3, together, Hoos." One day, when it was Love's turn, she counted to four.
Yesterday morning, Myers counted to four. The congregation responded as one: "Together, Hoos."
From now on, Myers said, the Cavaliers will always count to four.
Love was "truly remarkable," she said, "not because she tried to be, but because she just was."
Love, 22, was found dead Monday in her apartment near the U.Va. campus in Charlottesville. Police have charged George Huguely, 22, a fellow lacrosse player and former boyfriend.
Yesterday, the crowd overflowed from the pews into the aisles of the cathedral, which seats 1,400. The Love family sat at the front. Behind them were rows of students from Notre Dame Prep, the Towson girls' school Love attended, and other Love relatives.
The crowded church was a sea of matching colors and letters, ribbons and pins. Some Notre Dame students wore their school uniform: white-collared blue dresses with black-and-white loafers. One contingent wore the brown and orange of Landon School, the Bethesda boys' school attended by Huguely. Another group wore blue and black ribbons with the initials "YL." Some pews were dotted with orange and navy, U.Va.'s colors.
The candle used in Love's baptism flickered on the altar throughout the service.
A procession of women recited prayers for Love's friends and teammates, seldom reaching the end of a reading without choking back tears. One read a prayer for mothers who have lost their children, a poignant tribute on the eve of Mother's Day.
In his homily, the Rev. Joseph Breighner said Love was aptly named.
"Two thousand years ago, a young Jewish rabbi named Jesus died a senseless, violent death," Breighner said. "All he did and all he preached was love. This past week a woman has died a senseless, violent death. Her name was Love. And love is what her life is all about."
Without naming Huguely, Breighner stressed the importance of forgiveness.
"We do need to remember some things that Jesus spoke from the cross . . . . 'Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing,'" Breighner said.
Members of Huguely's men's lacrosse team served as some of the pallbearers.
Mourners left clutching the funeral program, its cover featuring a photograph of a young Love dressed as an angel.
Special correspondent Christian Swezey contributed to this report.
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