Upper Moreland & Springfield Twp were winners in Wednesday’s opening round of the District 1 2A Tournament. Springfield/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson & Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f683838916 (Upper Moreland/GMA photos provided courtesy of Jay Messina/UM lacrose)
District 1 2A opening round
#1 Upper Moreland 14, #16 Gwynedd Mercy 5
The Golden Bears looked every bit the part of the district’s top seed, jumping out to an 8-1 halftime lead on their way to the decisive opening round win.
“Today a lot came together for us,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “Our attack was more connected as a unit then it has been, and our defense continued to make the other team work hard for goals. The biggest thing I saw
today was we were one unit that played the entire game together.”
Annalise Messina and Olivia Meakim proved to be double trouble for the Monarchs, combining for 11 goals. Messina had seven goals as well as a team-high five draw controls while Meakim had four goals and four assists in an eight-point game that led the Bears. She also had one draw control. Molly Meakim contributed four assists while Willow Taylor added two goals, one assist and two draw controls. Maggie Morrow rounded out the scoring with one goal, and Avery Adamski had one draw control.
“On attack, Olivia Meakim came out strong and ready to play,” Frantz said. “Olivia had a part in eight of the goals scored today. She had some incredible passes and goals. She was just a huge part of the offense today and had an amazing game.
“Annalise had some awesome goals today, tallying seven on the day. Our attack was very creative and patient with shot selection and worked so well together. Molly Meakim had some amazing passes with four assists that were huge in the game.”
The Golden Bears’ defense was all but impenetrable in an opening half that saw the Monarchs score just one goal. The Monarchs scored four goals in the second half but not without resistance from UM’s defense.
“On defense, we really made Gwynedd work hard for each goal,” Frantz said. “Our defense consisted of Leah King, Cambrie Richmond, Madeline Cox, and Avery Adamski with our midfielders Keira Hess, Willow Taylor, and Annalise Messina. Avery was the heart of our defense and caused Gwynedd to struggle to get into the 8-meter for shots.”
Addi Hurley was credited with 12 saves in a strong outing in goal for the Golden Bears.
“Addi Hurley had some huge saves throughout the entire game,” Frantz said. “She really had a great game. We are excited for our next game. We know what is at stake and we are ready for the challenge.”
Upper Moreland (16-3, 9-2) will host #8 Strath Haven in a second round game Tuesday. Strath Haven crushed Delco Christian 18-2 in an opening round contest.
Gwynedd Mercy 1-4 5
Upper Moreland 8-6 14
#2 Springfield Twp 14, #15 Lower Moreland 2
Emma Yoder and her Spartan teammates haven’t forgotten.
The immense disappointment after last year’s early exit from the District 1 2A Tournament in a second round game to Gwynedd Mercy Academy. The Spartans entered districts as the top seed while Gwynedd was seeded eighth. The script appeared to be going as predicted with
the Spartans on top at halftime and early in the second half only to see the game slip away, falling 11-10.
The loss brought Springfield’s season to a heartbreaking end.
“When we were up in games last year, we would slow it down,” Yoder said. “We were like – ‘Let’s settle it and take longer possessions,’ and when we would do that, we would turn the ball over, and they would score. Then we would get on our heels, and they would have momentum. The sides kind of flipped that game, and we ended up losing by one. That was a really tough loss.”
Although painful at the time, Yoder said the Spartans learned a valuable lesson.
“It was such a learning experience,” the Spartans’ senior captain said. “I know this year whenever we get up in a game, we are like – ‘We are not a stalling team, let’s keep going until we’re up by a good amount.’ Obviously, running clock we’re not going to be disrespectful, but we definitely are like ‘let’s keep going. We can’t let up.’”
The Spartans took care of business in a hurry in Wednesday’s district opener, jumping out to a 7-1 halftime lead and extending that to 12-1 heading into the final quarter on their way to the decisive win.
Yoder and Sam McDevitt both had three goals and two assists while Shannon Silvius also had a hat trick. Maddie McDevitt added two goals, and contributing one goal and one assist were Amelia Price, Frankie Rizzo and Fiona Rizzo.
“Emma, Shannon and Ella McLaughlin had great draw controls to gain possession,” Spartans’ coach Marissa Conover said. “Jess Shapley stood out with her ground balls and turnovers as did Maddie McDevitt.”
Tess Talbot recorded five saves in goal in a winning effort. Stormi Sprague, a swing player who is an up and coming goalie, played the fourth quarter and had one save in a contest the Spartans dominated.
Listening to Yoder tell it, the seniors have been pointing toward this – their final season.
“Our freshman year we were good, and then sophomore year we lost a lot of seniors, so that was a building year for us,” Yoder said. “Last year, we won the league like we did this year, and we kind of choked in playoffs.
“This year, we’re coming out strong. We’ve definitely been building to this year. We have so many good seniors. Our coach always talks about how our seniors are giving leadership on the field, helping be coaches in our huddles, getting everyone excited in warmups. Just little things like that.”
That strong senior class is the heart and soul of this year’s squad, and there’s no mistaking – the Spartans are playing with a sense of urgency.
“It definitely feels different because we do have a lot of seniors that are continuing to play lacrosse in college – all of our seniors except for one,” Yoder said. “So, I think this year, every playoff game that we go into we’re like – ‘This could be our last game playing all together, so we need to come out strong – not take anyone lightly.’
“I know we played Lower Moreland in the regular season, but we were like – ‘We need to come out strong. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing – we need to play our best game every time we come onto the field because it could be our last.’ We always remind ourselves of that.”
Springfield Twp (14-5, 10-2 SOL) will host #7 Mount St. Joseph Academy in Tuesday’s second round. The two teams met in an early season non-league game last year. The Spartans escaped with a 7-6 win in overtime.
Lower Moreland closed out its season with an 8-11 record.
Lower Moreland 1-0-0-1 2
Springfield Twp 5-2-5-2 14
#4 Bishop Shanahan 15, #13 New Hope-Solebury 2
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