Spring-Ford shares the wealth, bests Boyertown for spot in PAC final

GRATERFORD >> It sounds strange, but unselfishness can lead to some impressive individual accomplishments.

And for Spring-Ford’s lacrosse team, it’s also the key to team success.

The Rams piled up the goals in Tuesday’s night’s 16-10 PAC semifinal win over Boyertown, but perhaps most impressive was Spring-Ford registering assists on thirteen of those 16 tallies.

“Ball movement, people moving without the ball – the more the offense moves, the harder it is for the defense to communicate,” said Rams midfielder Will Fish.
“The more guys we can get involved, the easier it becomes,” added attackman Justin Wixted.

Wixted, in particular, was getting everyone involved for the No. 2-seeded Rams. The High Point-bound senior finished with a season-high nine points, highlighted by a half-dozen assists.

Three of those helpers came on tallies by Fish, who led Spring-Ford with four goals on the night.

“We’ve played a lot of strong teams, and tonight we played to our abilities,” added Wixted. “That’s just practice and repetition.”

Wixted to Will Fish for 5-1 SF lead. 9:13 2Q pic.twitter.com/bI1I2ypxa2

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) May 9, 2023

The Rams started out hot, getting goals from different scorers in building a 4-0 lead in the opening quarter. But where they began to separate was in turning defense to offense, while preventing the Bears from doing likewise.

Spring-Ford created six turnovers on failed Boyertown clears in the opening half, frustrating the Bears’ attempts to get back into the contest after falling behind early. The relentless Spring-Ford ride proved difficult to solve all night.

“The biggest thing for us will be watching the film,” said Boyertown coach Grady Wise. “When we didn’t allow them into their (ride), we cleared the ball OK.
“We need to get better at not panicking when the pressure comes.”

On the topic of pressure, Fish, Wixted, and the rest of the Spring-Ford offense applied plenty of it throughout the night, consistently passing up good shots for great looks in an offensive effort that could have been even more prolific if not for the work of Boyertown goalie Logan Oakes (11 saves).

A 6-0 Spring-Ford run from the three-minute mark of the second quarter to the middle of the third quarter

turned a 6-3 contest into a one-sided affair before Boyertown was able to rally behind the offensive effort of Gage Parker (seven goals).

“I thought we were much better in the second half than the first,” said Wise. “We made our run late in the game when Gage put the team on his back. We got something going late behind Wyatt Yerger and our faceoff crew.

“But that was too deep a hole to climb out of against a team that strong.”

The Rams got four goals from Fish, plus hat tricks from Wixted, Colin Song, and Ian Evans. Lance Terrizzi, Hayden Wedemeyer, and Brady Welsh also scored for Spring-Ford.

Goalie Charlie Power (13 saves) almost got in on the scoring, carrying a third-quarter clear into the box and shooting just high on his own attempt.
Even so, the attempt was an example of Spring-Ford’s attention to detail.

“I wanted that bad,” said Power. “But at the same time, I know I can’t allow the goalie to get a save. If he does, that’s an easy goal at the other end.

“So I either hit the corner or miss the net entirely.”

Power backstopped an effort that held prolific Boyertown to only five goals in the game’s first three quarters.

“We did well to recognize our matchups, like getting the right defender on their guy (Aidan McFalls, the PAC’s leading goal scorer),” said SF defender Brandon Solomon.

Wixted’s high-scoring night featured one highlight that didn’t show up on his personal scoresheet. Just before halftime, Spring-Ford created a turnover, allowing Wixted to split a pair of Boyertown’s defenders with a crafty dodge before rifling a shot off the near post.

The ricochet found Colin Song, who completed his hat trick to send the Rams into the break up by a score of 9-3.

“Whether we’re up or down, this is the way we need to play,” said Wixted.

“That ride is a big emphasis on our team. Our attackmen, middies, everybody keys in during that portion of the game.”

Meanwhile, Boyertown (14-4, 7-3 PAC) will start the District 1-3A tournament at home next week. The Bears currently stand at No. 7 in the power rankings and are well-positioned to receive one of eight first-round byes before hosting a second-round game on May 18.

Spring-Ford (15-3, 9-1 PAC) advances to Thursday night’s championship game against No. 1 seed Perkiomen Valley, winners of the evening’s first semifinal matchup over Owen J. Roberts.

Just last week, Perk Valley earned that top seed with an 11-10 comeback victory over the Rams, also at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium.

“As a team, the championship’s been our goal all season,” said Wixted. “It’s just another game where we need to play within ourselves.”

Spring-Ford 16, Boyertown 10

BOYERTOWN
Gage Parker 7 goals; Mason Barndt goal, assist; Tyler Diffenderfer goal, assist; Eric Kovacs goal; Gio Daddario assist; Luke Heimbach assist; Logan Oakes 11 saves

SPRING-FORD
Will Fish 4 goals, assist Justin Wixted 3 goals, 6 assists; Colin Song 3 goals, assist; Ian Evans 3 goals’ Lance Terrizzi goal, 2 assists; Brady Welsh goal, 2 assists; Hayden Wedemeyer goal, assist; Charlie Power 13 saves