Sports
Higher Stakes This Time as Great Valley Faces Springfield
State girls lacrosse quarterfinals produce a quick rematch of Patriots, Cougars.
This time around, the stakes will be 'kicked up a notch,' as Emeril likes to say, when Great Valley and Springfield Delco meet in girls lacrosse on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Harriton High in Rosemont.
When the two butted heads last week, it was for third- or fourth-place in District 1 and the higher seed in the PIAA state tournament. Saturday, the winner will move on to the state semi-final and a step closer to being the best in Pennsylvania while the loser gets to start planning for the last days of the school year and summer vacation.
The Cougars (21-3) beat the Patriots 15-9 last week, using a second-half surge of five goals in a five minute span of the second half to take control of the game. Springfield went into states as the third seed from the district and promptly dismantled Emmaus in the first round, 17-3, thanks to five goals from Courtney Kennedy and four from Maddy Lynch. At one point, Springfield led the game 11-1.
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Great Valley (20-3), as the fourth seed, traveled to Mechanicsburg and promptly upset Distict 3 champion Manheim Township, 13-12, on a goal by Sara McBride at the start of overtime. The Blue Streaks were 23-0 at the time and considered by many to be headed to the state final.
Now, it is another meeting of two District 1 teams.
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"Springfield is so much different than us," Great Valley coach Joe Tornetta said. "It's all about possession [of the ball] to them. If they pass one time, it's a big deal."
Meanwhile Springfield coach Keith Broome has good knowledge about the Patriots, noting after the first meeting this season, "We played them last year in the semis, so we knew a little about them."
The winner of Great Valley-Springfield will square off with whomever wins the Downingtown East-Cocalico game, also slated for tomorrow, in the state semi-final next Tuesday.
In the other quarterfinal games, Garnet Valley faces Archbishop Carroll, and Penn Manor plays Sewickley Academy, meaning that a District 1 team still has a four-in-eight chance to make it to the state final next Saturday in Hershey.
