Santana scores 8, Springfield-Delco tops Souderton in District 1 playbacks

SPRINGFIELD — There was a moment in the second half Tuesday afternoon when the Souderton girls lacrosse team finally got things working on offense.

Three straight goals by the 12th-seeded Indians cut No. 9 Springfield-Delco’s lead to 10-5 with 12:29 remaining, enough time for Big Red to feel a rally was still a possibility in the District 1 fifth-place semifinal.

“At that point, I thought there was a chance we were going to make a comeback,’ Souderton junior Krista Schneider said. “And I think we all got a little excited.’

That excitement, however, was quickly doused out by the host Cougars over the next two-plus minutes. Emily Santana and Bridget Whitaker found the back of the net for a seven-goal advantage at 10:06, with Springfield adding another two score to end the Indians’ season with a 14-6 defeat at Halderman Field.

I think our intensity was a little bit low,’ Souderton coach Kelly Kelly said. “And I guess stick work wasn’t quite there today for us in terms and catching and I’ve never seen us drop so many passes.’

As the Indians struggled early, Santana gave the Cougars control, scoring the first three goals of the contest. The Rutgers commit had five in the opening half and finished with a game-high eight as Springfield advances to Thursday’s fifth-place game to face either No. 6 Unionville or No. 7 Garnet Valley with the winner earning District 1’s final PIAA Tournament bid. The Cougars are looking to make states for a third straight season.

“We would love to get back to states,’ Springfield coach Keith Broome said. “It’s hard every year. Last year, there were six teams that made it. We would be in right now if there was six teams. They year before there’s seven, now there’s only five and our league, just in the Central League there’s five really teams, there’s seven good teams just in one league.

“And then you look at the Suburban, the Ches-Mont, Unionville’s a great team, Great Valley’s in, it’s hard, it’s hard to get in. That would be a good goal for us to achieve, especially with the youth that we have.’