Springfield’s late spurt beats Great Valley in districts opener

SPRINGFIELD >> With just 10 minutes to go in the District One boys’ lacrosse opener Tuesday evening, defending district champion Springfield was tied with a stubborn Great Valley squad.

The 10th seeded Cougars then went on a roll, scoring four straight goals to defeat the No. 23 Patriots, 8-4, at Cougar Stadium.

Springfield will travel to Central League rival Haverford Thursday night for a second-round clash.

“We run a system-possession offense, and we did a good job of possessing the ball,” said Springfield head coach Tom Lemieux. “And our defense really buckled down. Zac Methlie controlled the tempo of the game defensively.”

Methlie, a senior defender, teamed with junior midfielder Matt Ries and junior midfielder Andrew Pickett to control the middle of the field with a strong night on draw controls.

The score was tied at 4-4 after Great Valley’s Dylan Tashjian (two goals) tallied with 10:08 left. Springfield senior Mike Gerzabek then scored an unassisted goal with 8:59 to go, sophomore midfielder Kyle Long tallied with 4:33 left to make it 6-4, then Long assisted on the next two Springfield goals, from Nick Martin (1:31 left) and Joe Debarnardi.

Long finished with three goals and three assists, and Gerzabek scored two goals for the winners.

Springfield had the first 10 shots of the game in the first six minutes but only a 1-0 lead. Part of the reason was the fine play of Great Valley goalie Scott McAneney, who recorded 15 saves.

“Scott’s been our rock all year long, and tonight was more of the same,” said Great Valley head coach Tony Verna. “I’m proud of the way we’ve played the last month of the season — we’ve had injuries, and people doubted us, but we’ve dug deep the last 6, 7 games. Springfield is a well-coached team with lots of good players, and they turned it on in the second half.”

Verna also praised Eastern University-bound senior Ethan Joseph (one goal) and junior Aaron Joseph.

“They’ve been giving us everything they’ve got,” Verna said.

Great Valley, which recently ran off a five-game winning streak starting April 30, ended its season with a 10-9 record.
Springfield (13-6), which started the season 1-5, has now won 12 of its last 13 games.