Springfield Twp defeated Holy Ghost Prep to earn a spot in Thursday’s District 1 3A title game against Radnor. Photo courtesy of Karla Donohoe: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p575962027
CLASS 3A
#2 SPRINGFIELD TWP 2, #6 HOLY GHOST PREP 0
They’re back.
The defending district champion Spartans – thanks to Monday’s 2-0 win over Holy Ghost Prep – earned a return trip to the District 1 3A Tournament, and they also punched their ticket to the state tournament.
Anything less would have been a disappointment.
“It means a lot to us,” senior captain Riley Martin said. “Coming from a state final loss (1-0 in overtime to Hershey), we really wanted to go back to states, which we are now, and win another district. That’s the goal – to keep on winning and keep on pushing.
“It’s great having another chance, having another lifeline at what we all dream of as a team. It’s fantastic.”
The bar was set high by last year’s squad, and it’s been a remarkable change of fortunes for a team that three years ago won just one game in the COVID-shortened season.
“It’s funny that this was the expectation for us this year when we spent forever never being in a district championship,” Spartans coach Dan Meder said. “Last year the expectation was, ‘All right, we just need to be back here next year,’ so it’s really a cool feeling. Hopefully, we can get it done on Thursday night.”
The trip to a district title will once again go through top-seeded Radnor. Last year, the Spartans – the tournament’s fourth seed – shocked the Red Raiders with a 1-0 overtime win, sending them home for the season.
The Spartans say they will approach Thursday’s title game the same way they approach every other game.
“It’s the same mindset,” senior captain Nick Marino said. “It’s kids – we’re all the same ages. They breathe the same air we breathe, so we’re just going to go out there and fight.
“I don’t care if Barcelona is out there – we’re going to give it our all. We worked hard for this.”
Monday’s game was a rematch of the season opener for both squads – a 3-2 Springfield Twp win in overtime.
“That was our first game in the season, and our whole mindset just changed after that,” Marino said. “We want it, we want it a lot. Everything we’ve been working for – we go into every game hungry. We just fight, we give it our all for 80 minutes.”
“That’s a good team, and they’re well coached,” Meder said of Holy Ghost. “The first time we played was like a week-and-a-half into the season. We were still sorting everything out with all the guys that graduated – just like everybody was. I’m sure they were doing the same thing. They have good young players.
“We found ourselves a little bit as we worked through the season, and we did our thing tonight.”
In Monday’s high stakes rematch, the two teams battled to a scoreless halftime tie.
Just over three minutes into the second half Kayden Sowell scored with an assist from Jack McKittrick.
“Jack served a great ball in for him, and Kayden was composed,” Meder said. “He had a shot, it got blocked, he stayed composed, he got a second shot off and he put it in.”
If they needed insurance, Martin gave it to them with a beautiful finish of a perfect pass from Ben Hubley with 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
“That’s the main run,” Martin said. “Ben is a very good dribbler – he’s very good at what he does. He gets the ball – he knew I was there. He didn’t even have to look, he knew I was there, slotted me in – wide open, bang. Touch and goal.”
“It was a great ball in, and it was a great finish by Riley,” Meder said. “Riley gets a lot of shots, but he also puts himself under a lot of pressure to score. Sometimes he’s trying too hard to score. That one – he just tucked away. It was great.”
That 2-0 score stood the rest of the way as the Spartans held on for the shutout.
“We’ve been working hard since preseason,” Marino said. “We haven’t stopped – we just keep on working. Every practice we show up.
“After you lose a state final like that, everyone just wants to go back, so everyone’s working hard. Everyone’s doing everything they can to win the games.”
Meder praised the effort of his entire squad in Monday’s win and acknowledged several players who weren’t involved in the scoring.
“Chase Rubincam, our center back, is outstanding,” the Spartans’ coach said. “We were missing Harry Bates, who got hurt with 30 seconds left in our last game. He’s second on our team in scoring, and we were without him tonight, so we platooned his position with some guys.
“Our center midfield – Nick Hanushchak, Ben Hubley, Nick Marino played great, Jack McKittrick in the back. Everyone played well, every one of them played well.”
Springfield Twp (18-1-1, 14-1-1 SOL) will face top-seeded Radnor in Thursday’s District 1 3A title game at Norristown High School (7 p.m.).
Holy Ghost Prep 0-0 0
Springfield Twp 0-2 2
#1 RADNOR 4, #4 LOWER MORELAND 0
The Red Raiders looked the part of the district’s top seed, opening up a 2-0 halftime lead with Nate Lucchesi scoring both goals. Radnor added a pair of goals in the second half for the 4-0 win.
Lower Moreland closed out its season with a 12-8 record, 9-7 SOL.
Lower Moreland 0-0 0
Radnor 2-2 4
About the Author
