Springfield Twp & Upper Dublin were winners in District 1 Tournament playback games Wednesday. Check out the Black Bear Lacrosse recaps. Springfield/Upper Moreland photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Pennridge/Garnet Valley photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games.
District 1 2A third place
#2 Springfield Twp 9, #1 Upper Moreland 6
Emma Yoder had herself a day.
The senior standout scored seven goals and was the undeniable MVP of the Spartans’ hard-fought win over league rival Upper Moreland in Wednesday’s third place game.
After Annalise Messina scored to spot the host Golden Bears a 1-0 lead, Yoder jumpstarted the Spartans with a pair of first-quarter goals while goalie Tess Talbot came up big in goal, turning away four shots. The Spartans led 2-1 after one quarter.
A pair of Yoder goals upped the Spartans’ lead to 4-1, but the Golden Bears scored back-to-back goals to close out the first half. While Yoder had all of her team’s goals, Talbot kept the Spartans on top with eight saves in a strong first half.
The two teams exchanged goals in the third quarter, and the Spartans – who received two more goals from Yoder and one from Fiona Rizzo – found themselves clinging to a tenuous 7-6 lead heading into the final frame.
The Spartans’ defense stood tall in the fourth quarter, keeping the Golden Bears off the scoreboard. Yoder and Maddie McDevitt each scored a goal for the Spartans.
“I think throughout the game there were a lot of turnovers and both teams scoring,” Springfield coach Marissa Conover said. “But the fourth quarter we decided we wanted to maintain possession. We wanted to play our game and not be influenced by their energy or their cadence. We decided to have fun and end strong, taking care of the ball and making good decisions.”
The Spartans’ coach credited Emma Yoder and Maddie McDevitt for having great games on the draw.
In addition to Yoder’s seven goals, Rizzo and McDevitt each had one goal while Sam McDevitt had three assists.
“Julia Guicheteau on defense had a few standout interceptions,” Conover said. “Adrianna Demers held a lot of our defense together.”
Talbot finished with 11 saves in goal in the win while Upper Moreland’s Addi Hurley had 12 saves.
“Upper Moreland’s goalie was really strong this game,” Conover said.
For Upper Moreland, Messina finished with two goals, two caused turnovers and four draw controls. Olivia Meakim had a hand in five goals, contributing two goals, three assists and one draw control, and Molly Meakim had one goal and one assist. Maggie Morrow added one goal, and Willow Taylor had one assist and one draw control. Leah King had one caused turnover.
“This was a tough game today,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “We battled in the first three quarters and just lost momentum in the fourth quarter.
“We will bounce back strong for our first state playoff game on Tuesday.”
Springfield Twp (16-6, 10-1 SOL) will face the District 12 champion in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 2A State Tournament, and Upper Moreland (17-5, 9-2) will face District 2 champion Abington Heights in Tuesday’s opening round of states. Abington Heights upset top-seeded Crestwood in the District 2 title game 10-8.
Springfield Twp 2-2-3-2 9
Upper Moreland 1-2-3-0 6
District 1 3A fifth place
#3 Upper Dublin 10, #5 Downingtown East 9 (OT)
The Flying Cardinals are displaying a flare for the dramatic in recent outings.
On the heels of a remarkable 11-10 win over Garnet Valley in a game the Cards trailed 9-3, the Cards won another nail biter, this time withstanding a tenacious second-half rally by the visiting Cougars to win in overtime when Paige Dinkel scored her sixth goal of a stellar outing for the game-winner.
The Cards took a 6-3 lead into halftime and still led 9-6 heading into the final quarter. Then came the Cougars’ fourth quarter charge.
“They came back and tied it (9-9) – we just had a little lapse there,” UD coach Dee Cross said. “I think we got really tight, to be honest, and I don’t know why. We were making uncharacteristic turnovers. I think the girls wanted it so bad – we’re in districts, and they want to do really well.
“We’ve never been here before, and I think we just got tight and started doing things that we don’t normally do.”
UD called a timeout to regroup when the Cougars scored to make it a 9-8 game with 9:13 remaining in regulation.
“Downingtown East – across the board – has really good players,” Cross said. “They’re all good, they’re fast, so we had to regroup and re-establish the fact that we belonged on the field with this team. I think that helped us settle them down.”
With some good passing and a strong finish, Downingtown East knotted the score with 1:23 remaining in regulation, setting the stage for overtime.
The Cougars gained possession off the opening draw.
“They got a shot, Erin (Darcy) made the save, got us the ball, and we called a timeout,” Cross said. “We gave the ball to Bridget DiMartile to run the ball up – use her speed, use her height to see the field.
“We were able to get it down on our offensive end, and they got a yellow card (with 1:26 remaining in the first OT), so we were up one player. They got another yellow card (five seconds later), so we were up two players and had the ball in our attacking end.
“Credit Downingtown East – they caused a turnover, but we were able to get it right back, and I quick called a timeout. We told the girls – ‘Work the ball around, believe in each other,’ and with 48 seconds left in the first overtime, we were up two (players), but nothing’s ever given. Bridget passed the ball to Paige, who shot and scored. Paige got open, they got her the ball, and she made the shot.”
The players didn’t immediately realize they’d won in sudden death since this was UD’s first overtime of the season.
“Some of them knew, but some of them were just standing there – we said, ‘Girls, we just won the game,’” Cross said.
Dinkel led the Cardinals with a dazzling six-goal effort. She also had one draw control. Bridget DiMartile finished with three goals and two assists – including an assist on the game-winner. She also had five draw controls and one caused turnover. Anna DiMartile added one goal, two assists, three draw controls and a team-high four caused turnovers. Ava Shohen contributed an assist and three draw controls, and Shannon Connaughton also had one assist. Maeve Hogan and Lily Buckius both had one caused turnover.
Darcy was credited with six saves in goal in a winning effort.
“Erin came up big again this game when we needed her to,” Cross said of her senior goalie.
The UD coach went on to credit the efforts of several players.
“Bridget DiMartile stepped up again as a freshman and held her composure and handled the ball really well when we needed her to,” Cross said. “Paige had to play attack today, so we were moving people around in the midfield, and our three leading scorers stepped up and scored our goals today as they usually do.
“Our defense of Abby O’Meara, Oliva Broome, Sophia Sirianni and Maeve Hogan again worked together. We had times where we kind of let down, but they always come through in the clutch. With Erin (Darcy) coming up with that save in OT, the defensive end really stood tall today when we needed them to, and that was the key.”
Upper Dublin (17-5, 10-0 SOL) will face District 11 champion Pleasant Valley in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 2A State Tournament on Tuesday.
Downingtown East 3-0-3-3-0 9
Upper Dublin 3-3-3-0-1 10
District 1 3A, seventh place
#10 Garnet Valley 17, #8 Pennridge 8
In a playback game that was anything but typical, the Lady Rams trailed the visiting Jaguars 3-2 when the game was halted for a thunderstorm with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening half.
After a lengthy delay, play resumed, and the Jaguars scored four straight goals to go up 7-2. The Rams rallied to pull to within three at halftime (8-5), but they would get no closer.
The game was highlighted by senior Kendall Posey scoring her 100th goal. She also had one draw control.
“Kendall scoring the 100th on our turf gave us the push we needed after the rain delay,” Pennridge coach Karen Schnurr said. “She has been working so hard, and for her to finally have her moment, it was wonderful.”
Also for the Lady Rams, senior Ava Fantaskey scored two goals and had nine draw controls in a dominant effort in the circle. Madigan Posey added two goals and one draw control while Cayla Wurz, Leah Veresy and Kate Unzicker each had one goal. Verespy also had one draw control while Unzicker had a draw control and two caused turnovers. Makena Charles also had one draw control.
The night marked the end of a special era in Pennridge lacrosse as it marked the final game for Schnurr – whose second child is due any day – after 10 years at the helm.
“Even though this didn’t end in the perfect storybook ending, it was my dream come true,” the Lady Rams’ coach said. “To win the league, compete in playoffs the third straight year and have a team that was always willing to fight and never give up, it’s my perfect storybook ending.
“I know the legacy will live on, and Pennridge lax will continue to flourish.”
Pennridge closed out its most successful season in recent memory with a 14-8 record overall. The Lady Rams captured a share of the SOL National Conference title with a 9-1 record.
Garnet Valley 3-5-5-4 17
Pennridge 1-4-1-2 8
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