Manheim Township girls stunned by Springfield-Delco in PIAA Class 3A state lacrosse quarterfinals

READING — Down goes Frazier.

The top-seeded team in District Three, Lancaster-Lebanon League juggernaut Manheim Township bowed out of the PIAA Class 3A girls lacrosse tournament earlier than expected Saturday, with a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Springfield-Delco at Exeter’s Don Thomas Stadium.

Springfield drew first blood about eight minutes into the game on a goal by Erin DeStefano. The Cougars not only took an early lead, but their defense had Township out of sorts.

One of Springfield’s plans on defense was to face guard the Blue Streaks’ Alivian Parmer. Anywhere Parmer went, a Cougar defender stuck tight to her. The plan was effective for the first 12 or so minutes, until Parmer shook her defender and put a pass from Regan Taylor and in the net.

The goal calmed the Streaks down, and they started to get into a rhythm on offense. Parmer would notch two more goals in the first half, and both Calli Campagna and Olivia Young would add a goal, giving Manheim Township a 5-2 lead going into halftime.

The Blue Streaks had a good handle on the game then, but the break worked wonders for Springfield.

The Cougars came into the second half poised.

They scored three unanswered goals, tying the game at 5-5 with just under 17 minutes to play. The Cougars did a better job on the draw, gaining possession and using it to pressure the Township D.

“They had a little more success on the draw in the second half versus the first half,” Blue Streaks coach Mark Pinkerton said.

The Blue Streaks ran into some trouble in the second half with giving away free position chances.

“We got called for a lot of fouls and we gave away too many free position shots,” Pinkerton said. “We made a couple bad decisions and they capitalized.”

Manheim Township netted its first goal of the second half thanks to Taylor, who scored with just under six minutes left in the game. The goal tied the game at 6-6, but more importantly, would work to settle the Streaks down.

Young followed up Taylor’s goal a mere 50 seconds later, giving the Streaks a narrow 7-6 lead with just over five minutes to play.

But Springfield refused to be denied.

The Cougars continued pressuring the Township defense and were awarded a free-position shot on a Blue Streaks foul. Springfield’s Devin Buggy calmly put the ball past Manheim Township’s Maddie Eckert in goal, and the game was tied once again with just under four minutes to play.

The winner came with just 21 seconds left, when the Cougars forced another free-position shot. DeStefano, the scorer of three of Springfield’s seven goals to that point, awaited the whistle. It blew, and DeStefano beat Eckert for the final margin.

Township made a last-ditch effort with time against them. The Blue Streaks scored before time expired, but were offsides, and it resulted in a turnover and the end of their season.

“I told them that I am super-proud of them, and they couldn’t have worked any harder,” Pinkerton said. “As tough as it is to lose, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a really successful season.”