District 1-3A Lacrosse: Springfield’s all-around effort too much for Perkiomen Valley
GRATERFORD >> Losing the 2020 season — and a year off their high school careers — taught the Springfield-Delco Cougars several valuable lessons.
That’s why Saturday’s 11-3 victory in a District 1 3A quarterfinal over third-seeded Perkiomen Valley brought a little added exuberance from a team and a program that’s no stranger to postseason success.
“The past year has been really challenging for everybody and I think for us, it’s really brought our team closer,” said coach Tom Lemieux. “Plus after losing a season, a lot of these guys haven’t really been in this position before. They’re still learning what May lacrosse is all about.”
On Saturday, it was about the little things — winning the game by small margins on offense, defense, extra-man opportunities, faceoffs, loose balls — qualities that, added together, equalled a decisive victory.
“There are six major goals we like to accomplish on each game, and they’re our keys to success,” added Lemieux. “We don’t really discuss them publicly, but it’s our focus as a team.”
It’s safe to say the Cougars accomplished those goals Saturday, led by hat tricks from Robbie O’Brien and Jack Clark, getting eight saves from Ethan Johnson in net, and controlling possession thanks in large part to Colin Hannigan going 13-for-18 on faceoffs.
The win places sixth-seeded Springfield (15-4) into Tuesday’s District 1 semifinals against Central League rivals and No. 2 seed Radnor while clinching a berth in the PIAA state tournament, where the Cougars will look to capture their third state title since 2016 and their first since moving into Class 3A after the 2017 season.
“They (Radnor) have an incredible program,” said Lemieux, “and there’s plenty of mutual respect. We know they’re one of the best teams in the state, and we’ll have our hands full looking to compete.”
The best place to start might be following Saturday’s recipe. Springfield’s first-half domination started with Hannigan’s 8-for-10 performance on faceoffs, and a quick-strike offense that had the Cougars ahead 2-0 just two minutes into the contest. O’Brien’s first of three first-half goals broke the ice, followed 47 seconds later by Clark.
Ryan O’Connor played the whole field, working the wing on faceoffs, carrying the ball into the box after gaining possession and getting back on close defense to control the Vikings attack.
It was 5-0 Springfield before Matt Farrington got the Vikings on the board 3:40 before halftime with a heads-up play off a deflection. But O’Brien quickly responded with his third tally, followed by Clark’s 100th career goal with only six seconds to play before halftime.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” the Drexel commit said of the 100 goals, “but the main goals are team-oriented. It wouldn’t have happened without all of these guys out here.”
Hannigan was more succinct in summarizing Springfield’s motivation.
“People set low expectations for us all year,” he said, “and we’re out to shatter them.”
The Cougars’ lead got as high as 9-1 before Dane Hagen and Brandon Baker brought PV closer at the close of the third quarter.
But Clark completed his own hat trick with eight minutes to play, and the Cougars continued to control possession for the remainder of the contest.
For the Vikings (14-3), it’ll be do or die when they host seventh-seeded Wissahickon on Tuesday. The Trojans bested PV 9-2 at the end of the regular season, but with the season on the line coach Bryan Churchey expects an entirely different ball game.
“We had a game plan, and we did not execute any of it,” Churchey said. “We spent too much time on defense, didn’t get ground balls, didn’t take care of the ball —it’s a learning experience, and we need to get better as a result.”
The Vikings’ learning experience doubled as Springfield’s vintage performance of the 2021 season thus far — one they’ll look to duplicate at least a few more times this spring.
