Mastropietro’s milestone underscores Springfield win over Merion Mercy
HAVERFORD TWP. — In the span of three months, Belle Mastropietro has reached two significant milestones in the career of a high school athlete.
The Springfield High senior scored her 1,000th career basketball point in the Central League championship game against Garnet Valley in February.
Mastropietro tallied her 100th lacrosse goal to lead the second-seeded Cougars to a 17-6 District 1 Class 2A tournament victory over 14th-seeded Merion Mercy at Haverford Reserve’s turf field Tuesday afternoon.
Springfield (14-5) advances to the quarterfinal round to play No. 7 Gwynedd Mercy, which cruised to a 20-8 win over 10th-seeded Phoenixville.
Belle Mastropietro gets all of the hugs after scoring her 100th goal !! @SSDAthletics
💯💯💯 pic.twitter.com/rMNYc1laGr— Matt Smith (@DTMattSmith) May 14, 2019
Not a bad few months for one of Springfield’s best multi-sport athletes, who will continue her lacrosse career at Temple next spring.
Never the one to boast of her individual accomplishments, Mastropietro celebrated briefly with teammates and coaches during a timeout in the second half. All that really matters to her, though, is the fact her team played so well and advanced to the second round of the district tournament.
“I’ve been playing with some of these girls for a really long time, so to be able to do it with them is really special,” Mastropietro said. “To have Alyssa (Long) assist the one I had before that, stuff like that, is pretty cool. I like doing things and having other people to celebrate with.”
Mastropietro’s 100th goal was her sixth and final one of the afternoon and extended the Cougars’ lead to 17-3 with 18:57 left in regulation. She accounted for all three of Springfield’s second-half tallies.
Mastropietro was dominant from the outset. She won the opening draw, raced down the field and scored 13 seconds into regulation. Obviously, with 100 goals in her back pocket, Mastropietro has emphasized scoring more in her senior year.
“We knew that by losing Liv (Little) and Dana (Carlson) from last year that we would have to have a lot of people step up,” she said. “So, just going out and wall-balling, shooting before practice and after practice, stuff like that, that has really helped because we knew we had to score to make up for the goal that they had last year.”
Mastropietro was the engine that got the Cougars rolling Tuesday, and she has been a big reason for the Cougars’ success in 2019.
“I’ve tried to get better at my one-handed draws, to be able to get the ball down,” she said. “Just doing a lot of little things better. Even using my left hand more, being able to cut and lot of fundamental things.”
Mastropietro was far from a one-woman show Tuesday. Erin Gormley registered three goals and three assists, Julie Schickling added a hat trick, and Olivia Pace finished with two goals and two helpers. Alyssa Long flourished in the midfield while Meghan Cull and Kate Ward excelled on attack for the Cougars.
“We’ve been working really well together,” Gormley said. “We just want to get all the right basic skills down and play like we know how.”
While the Cougars thoroughly dominated the Monarchs, they entered the game knowing they had to treat this game like it was a Radnor or a Garnet Valley on the opposite sideline.
“Our coaches always tell us never to take anyone lightly,” Mastropietro said. “Anyone can beat anyone at any given time. We knew that coming in, it was a new season. (Assistant coach) Kathleen (Geiger) tells us that it’s a new season and we’ve got to do the things we do well and to not overlook anyone.”
Although the Cougars maintained possession for a large chunk of the match, their defense was spot-on, too. Makayla Cox and Casey O’Connor were among the players to shine on the other end of the field, protecting goalies Dana Mirigliano and Rachel Conran, who each played a half.
“I think we’ve been able to rotate a lot quicker, which has really helped us on defense,” Mastropietro said. “I think, in the beginning of the season, we didn’t really communicate as well … but as the season has gone on we have jelled together more and we’ve worked together better and easier. It feels like that.”
Schickling’s third goal on a free position shot gave Springfield a 13-3 advantage with 3:21 to go in the first half. More importantly, it triggered the running clock for the remainder of regulation.
After Mastropietro’s final tally, Merion Mercy scored the final three goals. Emily Hauck recorded a team-high four goals and Alex Lavelle had the other two.
