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ERDENHEIM – Charlotte Swavola doesn’t remember a whole lot about the beginning of Thursday afternoon’s SOL showdown against Springfield.
“At the moment, I can’t even remember the plays that happened at the beginning of the game,” Cheltenham’s high-scoring senior said. “I can remember the incredible frustration I felt – ‘I don’t know what I’m doing right now.’”
Credit the Spartans - who sprinted to a quick 5-0 lead - for Swavola’s frustration.
The Temple-bound senior was the focus of their defensive scheme. None of them, it seems, had forgotten that she had scored a total of 21 goals in two Cheltenham wins last year – 11 in one and 10 in the other.
This time around, Swavola was limited to three goals, and the Spartans withstood a spirited Lady Panther comeback in the second half to earn a hard-fought 11-8 win in a battle for third place in the SOL American Conference standings.
“This is big, especially since last year we lost twice to this team,” Springfield’s Maggie Olson said. “Coming out here, we had something to prove to ourselves and to them.
“The third place spot (in the conference standings) is a big one. We want to improve on what we did last year, and that makes every game important.”
Olson certainly did her part to hold the Lady Panthers at bay. The Spartans’ gifted goalie was credited with 14 saves – nine in a stellar second half.
And just how important was Olson’s performance?
“Oh, it’s gigantic,” Spartan coach Ken Rodoff said. “It’s a game changer.
“This whole season so much has been squarely resting on her shoulders, and she has gotten better game after game.”
The Spartans took a lot of pressure off of Olson by scoring five quick goals out of the gate, stunning the Lady Panthers.
“We were out of control surprised,” Cheltenham senior Lindsey Pretsch said.
Maggie Canavan and Sarah Studdiford each had a pair of goals in that stretch, and Lauren Chandler, who finished with a game-high four goals, also had a goal and assist before the Lady Panthers got on the scoreboard, thanks to a Alex Norfel goal (Olivia Dudo assist) at the 8:33 mark of the opening half.
“We started out cold, and we ended up playing like we knew we were cold,” Swavola said.
An eight-meter goal by Norfel made it a 5-2 game, but the Spartans came up with the ball on the ensuing draw, and Chandler connected on a powerful shot. Another Canavan goal made it a 7-3 game before Swavola connected for her first goal at the 2:22 mark.
The Spartans closed out the half with Anna Studdemund finding Jill Armington for a goal that sent Springfield into halftime with an 8-3 lead.
“We didn’t get a lot of the draws in the beginning,” Pretsch said. “We need to control them, and in the second half, we started controlling them.”
And that made all the difference in the world.
A strong passing sequence saw Madi Brunk pass to Dudo, who found Whitney Henderson streaking to goal for the score. A big stuff by Cheltenham goalie Geena Carminati (nine saves) set the stage for a Swavola goal (Elizabeth Heimann assist), and when Swavola turned an interception of a goalie clear into a goal, it was an 8-7 game at the 18:23 mark, prompting Rodoff to call a quick timeout.
“I told them to take a deep breath and go out and have fun,” the Spartans’ coach said. “The difference in the beginning of the second half – Charlotte caught three draws in a row, so draw control made a difference.
“We also made some uncharacteristic errors.”
The Panthers kept the pressure on, but Olson repeatedly came up with the big stops – including a diving save of an eight-meter shot by Dudo.
“I just tell myself the only thing I can do is control how I play,” Olson said. “No matter how the other team plays, it doesn’t really matter because once the ball leaves their stick, it’s up to me, so I just have to concentrate and do the best I can.”
The Spartans had a two-goal cushion after Morgan Smith converted an eight-meter shot, but Heimann scored to make it a one-goal game at the 8:11 mark.
“I think we just realized we could beat this team,” Swavola said. “We were playing scared in the first half.”
Two minutes after Heimann made it a one-goal game, Chandler pounced on the rebound of a goalie save for the score. It was Chandler who sealed the Lady Panthers’ fate when she scored – using a Canavan assist – at the 4:03 mark to put the Spartans on top 11-8.
“In the second half, we let them dictate the game at first,” Chandler said. “Our coach called a timeout, and we really got fired up and reminded ourselves it was our game and not theirs, and we went out and played the way we did the first half – Springfield lacrosse, confident as always.
“This is one of our most important games. We’re trying to get that third spot in the Suburban One, and with losses in big games to Upper Dublin and Wissahickon, we really needed this game. It’s a great win for our team because we have a lot of potential, and we showed it out here today.”
The Spartans won’t have a whole lot of time to celebrate the big win. They meet the Lady Panthers in a rematch next Thursday.
“We’re learning from this game,” Pretsch said. “Now that we know the situation, we can definitely learn from it and work at it the next game.”
The win upped the Spartans’ record to 7-4 in league play (9-4 overall).
“This was the first time this season against a competitive league team where we had to manage a lead,” Rodoff said. “Against Upper Dublin and Wissahickon, we’re always coming from behind, but today we found ourselves in the unique but desirable position of having to preserve a lead.”
The Spartans preserved the lead, setting up what promises to be an interesting rematch in seven days.
SPRINGFIELD 11, CHELTENHAM 8
Cheltenham 3 5-8
Springfield 8 3-11
Goals/Assists: Cheltenham – Charlotte Swavola 3-0, Alex Norfel 2-0, Elizabeth Heimann 2-1, Whitney Henderson 1-0, Olivia Dudo 0-2. Springfield – Lauren Chandler 4-1, Maggie Canavan 3-1, Sarah Stufddiford 2-0, Jill Armington 1-2, Morgan Smith 1-0, Anna Studdemund 0-1.
Saves: Geena Carminati (C) 9, Maggie Olson (S) 14.
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