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.”

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