Pennsbury girls’ lacrosse clinched the program’s first conference title since 2013. (Photos provided by Pennsbury girls’ lacrosse, which sponsored the article below.)
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Special.
It’s a word that comes up regularly when Pennsbury tri-captains Maddy Spratt, Maggie Golder and Darrien Furiness talk about their lacrosse team.
“I’m writing a speech now for the banquet, and that’s the first sentence – how special this team is,” Spratt said.
In some cases, that might sound cliché, but in this case, it has a genuine ring to it. This Falcon team has something special, and it translated into a 14-1 regular season and a 9-1 record in SOL National Conference play and the program’s first championship since 2013.
The Falcons clinched a share of the title with an emotion-packed 17-14 Senior Night win over Council Rock South.
“We were so excited because it was our Senior Night, and that was the best game ever because of the energy coming in – we were so happy, and to win it was so special, especially on Senior Night because we had lost to North Penn by one on Senior Night in the stadium, and it was the worst loss because all of our fans were there,” said Spratt of the Falcons’ 9-8 loss to the Knights in 2019.
“I think it’s really important to point out how long we wanted to win the SOL,” Furiness said. “That’s just always been in the back of our minds. We’ve been so hungry for that. I think just winning that was the best feeling.”
“In the beginning of our season, we would talk about our goals,” Golder said. “Every single one of us was like – SOL champions. We knew it could happen and it did.”
The Falcons’ only loss of the season came at the hands of Central Bucks South on April 7 in their first game of the season.
“I definitely think that helped us,” Furiness said. “One of the things we ended up saying at the end of the game was – this is going to be our last loss this season. We made it our goal that we weren’t going to lose any other games.
“I think honestly you need games like that to show you what you need to work on and that was definitely a wake-up call for us – the season’s here, we’re going to be able to play this year, and I definitely think we stepped up after that.”
“That (loss to CB South) lit a fire under them,” Pennsbury coach Shannon MacPherson said. “They just kept rolling from there. It was just awesome to see their vision come into play because they’ve worked so hard for it.”
Fourteen straight wins later, the Falcons enter the District One 3A Tournament as the eighth seed and after an opening round bye will host ninth-seeded Downingtown East on Thursday.
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Many of this year’s successful squad have been playing together since they got their start on the same Lower Bucks Lacrosse team in fourth grade. It was while playing for LBL that they won their first championship together.
“It’s crazy,” Golder said. “Our childhood is coming full circle. We’d go swimming at each other’s houses when we were like 10.
“This team will never get back this opportunity that we have this year. Darrien and I have next year, but this team right now is so connected. I’m getting emotional talking about it.”
“The most special thing about all of this is that there are just no issues,” Furiness said. “We just never have issues, and that’s something we all pride ourselves on – that we can come to practice and come to games, and we all just want to genuinely be there for each other. I don’t think a lot of teams can say that.”
There’s no mistaking the fact that losing last year’s season due to the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the Falcons’ appreciation of the season.
“Not having that season last year kind of was a wake-up call for everybody,” MacPherson said. “You don’t know what can happen or what can be taken away, and I think they’ve all taken full advantage of that this season and given their full potential.
“Even this week at practice, they’ve been on another level. They’re ready to go, they’re fired up. It’s just exciting to coach all of them as a whole. We’re just so proud of all of them. They’re all such great kids. It’s been a fun year.”
Spratt, Furiness and Golder represent the heart and soul of this year’s Falcon squad. All three are Division 1 commits – Spratt, a senior, will take her talents to American University this fall. Furiness and Golder, both juniors, have made verbal commitments to Ohio State and Penn State respectively.
“Having the three of them – they just play so well together, they feed off each other, they know what the next person’s going to do,” MacPherson said. “I have a lot of confidence in the three of them, especially with Maggie taking the draw. She does an awesome job placing it exactly where it needs to go, and Darrien and Maddy are always ready for it.
“They’re a unit, but the team works as a whole, and they’re so selfless. They all know everyone is an important part of this team, and the three of them have stepped up and become such leaders. It’s been awesome to watch them grow.”
While the tri-captains are the undisputed leaders, they are inclusive and say their team shares a unique bond.
“Everyone’s love for the game has been so special since day one,” Spratt said. “I ‘ve always loved lacrosse as soon as I started playing, and all the girls love it so much, and I feel like what made it more special is how much we love each other.
“It really shows on the field because we’re all best friends off the field, we all talk every single day. I feel like this whole season – just every single day has been so fun. Even just going to practice – I didn’t feel good today, but I was like - I just want to go to practice. Just winning games with your friends is such a special feeling and celebrating with everyone. We get so happy when we see another person score or create a turnover, and I feel that’s what makes everything so worthwhile.”
The pandemic forced every team to find new ways to bond. That wasn’t a problem for the Falcons.
“We couldn’t have pasta parties, but that just brought us closer in a way because we looked forward to practice,” Golder said. “We didn’t look forward to hanging out on the weekends because we just couldn’t. We looked forward to going to practice and playing lacrosse.”
“We were so excited to be with each other,” Spratt said. “Even in the games, it’s so fun. Everyone is smiling, everyone is so happy to just be playing and with each other. I do genuinely mean that.”
“It makes it so fun to watch them because they pick each other up with their energy,” MacPherson said. “I’m just smiling talking about them. They’re such a great group of girls. If I could keep this team forever, I would. They’re awesome.”
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