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GIRLS LACROSSE: Fired-up Springfield-Montco starts hot, downs Mount St. Joseph in District 1-2A quarterfinals

Springfield’s Maddie McDevitt, 25, looks to get up the field between Mount St. Joseph’s Charlotte Cole, 23 and Lucia Meierdiercks, 15, during their District 1-2A quarterfinal on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
Springfield’s Maddie McDevitt, 25, looks to get up the field between Mount St. Joseph’s Charlotte Cole, 23 and Lucia Meierdiercks, 15, during their District 1-2A quarterfinal on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)
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SPRINGFIELD — Maddie McDevitt not only lit the fire, she fanned the flames as only she could.

The Springfield Township senior midfielder is in charge of the Spartans’ pregame speech and prior to her team’s biggest game of the season, McDevitt brought the heat. Her riled-up team then went out and carried that fire onto the field, getting off to a fast start against defending champion Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Tuesday’s District 1-2A quarterfinals.

Springfield’s seniors led the way in a 14-8 win, not only advancing to the semifinals but securing a state playoff bid for the first time in their careers.

“Maddie kills our pregame speeches every time,” Spartans senior Sam McDevitt, Maddie’s twin sister, said. “She gets everyone so hyped.”

For a group that had yet to reach states, or past the second round of districts for that matter, Maddie McDevitt is not only a top midfielder, she’s taken the role of energizer before the Spartans even touch the field.

“I feel like I’m so close with everyone, that I know how to get under people’s skin in that positive way,” Maddie McDevitt said. “There’s a fire that all of us have and when every single one of us wants it that much, we come out and play that much harder for each other.”

The opening nine minutes of the game set the tone for the game. Springfield Township’s offense came out rolling, almost literally with sophomore Frankie Rizzo netting an early hat trick off some backside rolls to the crease, while the defense stymied the Magic’s early looks.

Spartans senior goalie Tess Talbot collected five of her 10 saves in the first quarter to help her team’s 5-0 start and 5-1 lead after a quarter. When the St. Joe’s recruit was told that postgame, Maddie McDevitt let out an emphatic ‘let’s go’ from a couple feet to Talbot’s left.

“Everybody came out with a good mindset of ‘we’re here to work hard and we’re going to start out strong,’” Talbot said. “The defense did an amazing job. every single one of our defenders has stepped up this year, they helped to force some tough shots from their shooters, got on their hands, that was all the defense.”

Putting a quick five-spot on the board not only put the Spartans’ pregame fire to good use, it also put the defending district champions in a significant hole early. Mount senior Maggie Rezza noted it was hard to have to play uphill the whole game, even moreso when her team couldn’t seem to sustain any momentum it got.

The Magic played the second quarter much more evenly, but still lost the frame 4-3 and trailed 9-4 at the half. Rezza, a Penn State recruit, noted the impact the fast Springfield Township start had on the Mount’s defense.

“We tried to adjust to what they were doing, we noticed they had the crease rolls which we tried to fix going into the second half,” Rezza said. “We changed our defense from a zone to a man, which I think helped us. We knew the game was going to be about draws and possession.”

Springfield Township was able to adjust as the Magic started to identify some cracks in their defense. The Spartans accumulated eight assists, three of them coming from senior Sam McDevitt as the attack and midfield continued to share the wealth. Sam McDevitt also added a goal late in the first half off a nice dish from her twin sister Maddie, the end result of a patient possession to close the second quarter.

“What we wanted to focus on most was finding the open girl,” Sam McDevitt said. “We didn’t know if they were going to play a zone or man, so I think we did a good job of that today and not forcing too many passes.”

Maddie McDevitt helped the Spartans re-take control in the third quartet, the Catholic University recruit adding another assist and scoring both of her goals in the period, which the Spartans won 5-0 to initiate a running clock going into the fourth. Senior Emma Yoder, another St. Joe’s recruit, added two goals to give her a hat trick and Frankie Rizzo added her fourth goal in the frame.

With senior Amelia Price adding two goals and two assists and senior Fiona Rizzo tallying two goals, it was an overall productive day for the Spartans attack.

“We’re so lucky that every person on attack is so comfortable and confident with the ball, it doesn’t matter who they leave open because that person is going to be able to score,” Maddie McDevitt said. “I think that’s so important, we all know we believe in each other and it really helps us.”

Mount coach Mary Kate Maloney, in her first year with the program, called a timeout in the third and laid into her team. Rezza said it was a deserved and needed call out and while they had a significant deficit to overcome down 14-4 to start the fourth, the Magic could at least go out strong.

Last year’s district champs put their all into the final 12 minutes, out-scoring the hosts 4-0.

“With district games, there’s a lot of pressure and we had to get out of that, get away from that mindset,” Rezza said. “Our coach yelled it to us and we needed that. I think her sparking that fierceness but also keeping us collected definitely flipped a switch for us.

“As a senior, I was giving it all that last quarter. It’s what you can do and what you put on the field that stays as part of your Mount career and that was phenomenal to see for all our seniors.”

Talbot stepped up again in the fourth, the senior goalie making a couple of important stops to keep the Mount from making it interesting late. The leader of the Spartans defense said the most important thing was to keep the defense together and not worry about a few balls going into the net.

“Everybody on defense has a great attitude, we focus on being able to pick each other up, especially if we let a few shots in,” Talbot said. “For me, I try to have them focused on ‘you had the right step, you had the right slide, just commit sooner,’ but always uplifting.”

Springfield Township hosts No. 3 Villa Maria Academy in the semifinals on Thursday night at 7 p.m. While they’re assured of at least three more games, the Spartans aren’t going to just put the fire out now that they’ve secured a spot in states.

“Our practices have been so intense, if you drop the ball, you’re running,” Maddie McDevitt said. “We’re used to that intensity, we kind of like that pressure a little bit because I think it pushes us to do better. We’re all excited to be here.”

Springfield Township 14, Mount Saint Joseph 8

Mount Saint Joseph 1 3 0 4 – 8

Springfield Township 5 4 5 0 – 14

Goals-Assists: ST-Frankie Rizzo 4-0, Emma Yoder 3-0, Amelia Price 2-2, Maddie McDevitt 2-2, Sam McDevitt 1-3, Fiona Rizzo 2-0; MSJA-Katie Westmoreland 2-0, Amelia Clair 2-0, Gabby Clair 1-0, Maggie Rezza 1-1, Ani Garcia 1-0, Mads Meszczak 1-0.

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