Gwynedd Mercy rallies past Springfield Montco in District 1-2A first round

SPRINGFIELD >> Gwynedd Mercy Academy tightened things up in the midfield, made a change in the attack, and, as coach Deb Lawlor described, “put some fire” into the way the team moved the ball around.

“That’s really what transformed the opportunities,” Lawlor said after her team rallied back from six goals down on Tuesday, “because we got our rhythm and we got our pace. We did find it, luckily soon enough.”

Eleventh-seeded GMA overcame a 14-8 deficit to No. 6 Springfield Montco to earn a 16-15 victory in the opening round of the District 1-2A Playoffs. The win advances the Monarchs to a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, against either No. 3 Jenkintown or No. 14 Pope John Paul II. The winner of that quarterfinal game advances to states.

“We had a slow start and didn’t have the energy that we needed. But then we started to win the draw more, possess on attack, and got the ball moving quicker,” said the Monarchs’ Izzy Fiore, who led the way with a five-goal effort. “I think that really helped us to find success.

“We felt the energy building.”

GMA reached the second round of districts last year and looks to take it a step further this spring and advance to the the state tournament.

“It’s very exciting, especially as a senior – I want us to go as far as we can,” Fiore said. “I think this is a great win and hopefully we can continue this onto the next stage.”

The Monarchs won just about every draw control down the stretch, storming back from 14-8 down to go up 15-14. The Spartans evened things at 15 apiece but a goal by Sydney Mandato with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left proved to be the game winner for GMA.

“We hung tight and we did what we needed to do,” Lawlor said. “My defense really came around, caused turnovers, and we had some knock-downs where we were able to get possession on the ground ball and get great transitions on.”

Keira Cassidy scored four goals for the Monarchs, and Mandato, Olivia Spector and Ellie Verrill each scored twice, with Audrey Beck chipping in a goal.

Fiore got possession of the ball with about two minutes to play and the Monarchs didn’t surrender it until just a few ticks remained on the clock. Springfield tried to get off one last shot from deep in its own end, but the ball sailed high up into the air as time expired.

Said Fiore: “I just figured this might be my last game so I wanted to leave it all out on the field.”

The Monarchs led 2-0 early, then battled back from a 5-2 hole to tie things up. The Spartans again went on a run, leading 13-8 at the break and 14-8 early in the second half.

Fiona Rizzo (five goals), Emma Yoder (four goals) and Maddie McDevitt (three goals) were a driving force for the Spartans.

“It definitely came down to the draw control,” said Spartans coach Marissa Conover, who guided her team to a tremendous season. “We had it for a while. I think somewhere along the way, between losing the draw, and silly mistakes, the momentum turned. (GMA) was able to take advantage of their momentum turn and we never really got it back.

“It’s a young team – most of them are sophomores. It comes with experience: that lax I.Q., handling the pressure and handling the crowds, and trusting yourself. Hopefully, as the team ages, we’ll get better.”

District 1-2A First Round
Gwynedd Mercy Academy 16, Springfield Montco 15
(11) GMA 8 8 – 16
(6) Springfield 13 2 – 15
GMA goals-assists: 2 Sydney Mandato 2-2, 4 Olivia Spector 2-3, 13 Izzy Fiore 5-3, 16 Audrey Beck 1-1, 18 Ellie Verrill 2-1, 20 Keira Cassidy 4-0.
Springfield goals-assists: 10 Fiona Rizzo 5, 3 Emma Yoder 4, 25 Maddie McDevitt 3, 2 Sam McDevitt 1, 7 Emily Smith 1, 31 Shannon Silvius 1.