Springfield’s Little comes up big in win over Perk Valley

SPRINGFIELD >> Springfield junior Olivia Little remembered the Cougars’ 2016 second-round district lacrosse playoff game.

“We lost,” Little said.

Perkiomen Valley first-year head coach Lisa Clark saw plenty of familiar things when her team stepped on to Halderman Field Thursday afternoon.

“I have a lot of memories of playing here,” said Clark, a 2005 Penncrest High graduate.

Little and Clark both will have things to remember as they look back on No. 4 seed Springfield’s 11-7 victory over No. 20 Perkiomen Valley in a District 1 Class 3A second-round contest.

Little scored four goals, with No. 4 coming with 15:33 to play. The goal was the 100th of her three-year varsity career.

“I wasn’t sure if I needed three or four goals today,” said Little, who will go on to play at Saint Joseph’s University. “When I got my third and nothing happened, I figured I still needed one more.

“I rebounded a shot and came around and threw it in left-handed.”

The goal gave Springfield (15-3) a 9-1 lead before Perkiomen Valley (12-8) rallied to get six of the last eight goals of the contest.

“The coaches wanted us to make sure we got a good lead because of the heat,” Little said. “We have some people with injuries, too, so we wanted to be able to get people breaks during the game. It was good that our defense played them tough.”

Freshmen Alyssa Long and Erin Gormley, sophomore Belle Mastropietro and seniors Erika Biehl, Maggie O’Connell and Bridget Whitaker were among the defensive standouts for the Cougars.

“(Head coach Keith Broome) told us that they had some players we’d have to watch out for,” Biehl said. “We knew they had girls who could run the field.

“We put Alyssa on one of their top scorers, and we doubled when we had to and tried to work together.”

Bailey O’Brien chipped in with two goals and an assist and Whitaker got one goal and two assists for Springfield.
Clark, who was an assistant for three seasons before becoming Perk Valley’s head coach, said her seniors had a lot to be proud of as they concluded their varsity careers.

“I’ve been with them all four years,” she said. “We’re losing a good group, but we have a lot of young talent that we’ll be depending on to come back and get us here again.”

Goalie Devon Fleischman, who will play at William & Mary, turned away 14 Springfield shots.

“She had a phenomenal game,” Clark said. “I have nothing but good things to say about how these seniors have come along since their freshman year.

“I hope we’re playing in the second round of districts next year, and I’m hoping that it will be a home game.”