Springfield’s Erin DeStefano, celebrating a win over Conestoga earlier in the season, scored the winning goal with 21 seconds left to give the Cougars an 8-7 victory over Manheim Township in the quarterfinal round of state tournament. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
EXETER — Erin DeStefano twirled her stick as she stood in place from eight meters in front of the cage, waiting for the sound of the whistle. Weighted on the senior attacker’s shoulders was the opportunity to score the game winner in the state quarterfinals, and to bring Springfield one step closer to accomplishing its ultimate goal.
She stared at the intimidating force that is Manheim Township goalie Maddie Eckert, who was excellent. For the better half of the game Eckert stymied the Cougars’ every shot on goal.
But after the Cougars recovered from a frustrating first half in which they were held to two goals, there stood DeStefano, with the game in her hands.
“Starting from down in the game, I felt like we had to work more as a team if we wanted to win,” DeStefano said. “When there was like five minutes left, and we were tied, I felt that the whole team was really calm. We didn’t rush passes or rush transitions. We took our time, we got the ball and we possessed it, which was the most important thing for us.”
DeStefano is good at so many things on the lacrosse field. Her excellence on the draw in the second half enabled Springfield to climb out of a hole. She is the central figure on attack.
Keith Broome wasn’t surprised to see DeStefano be the hero. Her goal with 21 seconds left in regulation gave Springfield the 8-7 lead and eventual victory over Manheim Saturday at Exeter High. Springfield will meet Central League rival Penncrest in the semifinals Tuesday at a time and location to be determined.
“She has been killing it this year,” Broome said. “She is a calming influence. You saw they were doubling her on the crease, but she’s our best feeder, too. She’s great. And she’s quicker than you think.”
DeStefano was responsible for half of her team’s scoring output. Three of those goals came in the second half, including back-to-back tallies to pull the Cougars even at 5-5 after they had trailed 5-2 at intermission. On the game-winning sequence, she was determined to get to the net, and if a physical (and at times, too aggressive) Manheim team sent her falling, then so be it. She was more than happy to take a free shot.
“I like eight meters and I feel like I am confident shooting them,” DeStefano said. “I mean, we practice them all the time. (Assistant coach) Kathleen (Geiger) always wants us to run it in, but I’m too slow and always get checked. I get kind of nervous, but it worked out OK.”
The Blue Streaks won the ensuing draw control. Calli Campagna sprinted to the cage and sent a quick shot past Springfield goalie Geena Augello with 3.5 seconds to play. The Blue Streaks celebrated as if they had sent the game to overtime. However, the officials ruled that Campagna was offside, negating the goal. The Cougars regained possession with three seconds to play and ran the clock out with ease.
Springfield’s defensive performance was outstanding. After a wobbly first half, they figured out a way to contain Alivian Parmer, who notched three goals and one assist in the opening half. Lexi Aaron, Mia Valerio and Anabel Kreydt, three experienced seniors, thrived in locking down the Blue Streaks’ best shooters. Junior Liv Gutowski also made things happen on defense for the Cougars.
“Lexi, Anabel and Mia have so much experience and playing together for basketball, they all just click,” DeStefano said. “They get all the girls to click, whether it’s sliding or protecting the center. They do so much.”
The key, according to Broome, was moving the versatile Valerio back on defense and putting Augello in the cage in the second half. Augello made three big saves after halftime in place of starter Maddy McBride (two saves).
“She is a senior and a great athlete and will do anything for the team,” Broome said of Valerio. “Moving her back just gives us a really good extra player back there. (Manheim) didn’t score in the second half until (5:57 left to play). With Mia back there it was huge for our defense. … Geena has been playing really well for us. We have two very good goalies, but they know if one is playing really well, you stay in the game.”
Kylee O’Donnell’s goal early in the second half preceded DeStefano’s back-to-back tallies to tie the score. Maddie Kane found the back of the net with 14:20 left to put the Cougars in front, 6-5. That run of four straight goals was snapped when Regan Taylor scored to draw the Blue Streak back even. Fifty seconds later Olivia Young sent a rocket past Augello to give Manheim the 7-6 advantage.
Allie Hunter picked up the next draw control, setting the stage for Springfield’s attack. Devin Buggy had her chance to shine when she was hit on the way to the net, giving her an 8-meter opportunity to tie the game. She connected with 3:47 to play.
“Devin came up clutch,” DeStefano said. “She’s been coming up clutch in a lot of different scenarios. When we played Conestoga (in the district tournament) she had a hat trick. She is amazing and is getting more and more confident on the field.”
After bowing in the first round of the Class 3A tourney last season, the Cougars are two wins shy of the program’s second PIAA championship. And they are out for revenge against Penncrest, which dealt them a heartbreaking loss in the District 1 semifinals last month. Penncrest advanced to the state semifinals with a 21-12 victory over Pine-Richland.
“Losing districts was hard, but I think our motivation is to always stay positive even when we’re down by four and be consistent when we’re up by four,” DeStefano said. “We just want to keep playing well together.”