Springfield slows it down, survives Rustin comeback challenge

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield’s victory over West Chester Rustin Tuesday wasn’t just a job, it was an adventure.

With six minutes and change left in the District 1 Class 3A playoff opener, the 15th-seeded Cougars held a two-goal lead and an 11-on-10 manpower advantage over 18th-seeded Rustin, the latter due to a sea of yellow cards. Normally girls lacrosse is a 12-on-12 game.

A few tense minutes later, Cougars coach Keith Broome gave the order that seemed inconceivable after his squad scored all seven of its goals in the first half: Hold the ball!

Alas, it worked. The Cougars escaped with a 7-5 success that was an instant learning tool for Broome and his players. Their next test is Thursday at Radnor.

The final score Tuesday in yellow cards was 5-4 in favor of Rustin. After the fourth red card, a team plays one man down. A fifth red card means two men down, and so on.

“The most we’ve had all season is two yellow cards,” Broome said. “We’ve never had a team that had that many cards. We’ve never played a man up, let alone two men up. So that was kind of a learning experience for us. It was different, but the refs were consistent. And I think our team is just really young. We’re playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores. They haven’t been in this situation at this level.”

Mia Valerio scored the first two goals to help stake Springfield (12-6-1) to a big early lead. When fellow sophomore Erin DeStefano added two more goals, and the Golden Knights began collecting yellow cards in a rugged, not crazy game, it looked like it was all over but the math. Especially the way Cougars goalie Rachel Conran and her defense were playing.

Senior Lauren Johnston put one in the net on a feed from Bella King. Sophomore Lexi Aaron tallied, then King, giving the Cougars a 7-0 cushion entering the intermission.

At that point, the Knights knew they’d be at least a man down in the second half. Yet slowly but surely, the Knights (9-7) fought back. Elizabeth McGurk ruined the shutout. Mya Pierce scored on a free position.

Then Lexi McClain scored three straight goals, including two in 30 seconds, slicikng the Rustin deficit to 7-5.

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