All anyone heard from the start of the girls lacrosse season in Southeastern Pennsylvania was how good Radnor is, and how the Red Raiders would run over everyone to win the first-ever PIAA state championship in lacrosse.
Radnor had a potent team back, and carried a 45-game winning into Thursday night’s District 1 championship. In past years, that’s where the state tournament ended, with the title in District 1, considered the best lacrosse in Pennsylvania. This year it’s open season, with no school-size classifications and every team playing each other.
It’s turned into the best against the best—and that resulted in a meeting between last year’s defending District 1 Class AAA champion, Radnor, and last year’s Class AA champ, Springfield.
What came next was a mild shocker, as Springfield (Delaware County) dominated the entire second half holding the most dangerous offense in the state to one goal and walking away with its fourth-straight District 1 crown and first outright district title with a surprising 14-9 victory over Radnor.
The victory snapped Radnor’s 45-game winning streak, the longest in the state, and extended Springfield’s winning streak, now the new owners of the longest streak in the state, to 21-straight games.
Springfield’s Samantha Tulskie and Madison Poplawski led all scorers each scoring four goals, while Valerie Paolucci had three for the Cougars.
Radnor trailed by five goals at one time, the most the Red Raiders ever trailed in a game this season, and went the final 20:16 without scoring a goal, the longest Radnor went without scoring this season. The Red Raiders were led by Courtney Campbell’s four goals and Samantha Ellis’s two.
But mostly, this game was all Springfield, which improved to 22-2 and enters the Pennsylvania state tournament now as the team to beat. It’s ironic that the last time the Cougars came on March 27—against Radnor, 15-5. Thursday night there was a marked difference from that team.
“We’ve come so, so far since then,” Springfield coach Keith Broome said. “We had to replace 11 starting seniors from last year and this is a team that’s literally gotten better every day. The key was winning the draws, winning the draws, and ball control. We held the best team in the state to one goal in the second half. That’s great defense. We changed some things since the beginning of the season, and we sensed we had a strong team. We just didn’t know how strong until tonight.”
There is a feeling these two teams will meet again in the state tournament—when a loss means the end and a victory something more than a district title.
“We hope to see them again,” Radnor’s legendary coach Phyllis Gilgour said. “They really came out and went after us. I think we panicked there a little bit in the end. Give Springfield credit, they did a great job and they’ll do anything to get the ball. In the past, this was it, but our season continues. Maybe this [loss] will make them a little more hungrier.”
In the meantime, the mantle of power in Pennsylvania has switched from Radnor to Springfield. And the Cougars don’t seem to mind.
“I guess in a way this proved we can play with anyone, and in a way they might have underestimated us,” said Tulskie, who will be attending La Salle in the fall for volleyball. “It just came down to a simple fact that we have more players who can score than they do.”
Round II of Springfield-Radnor promises more fireworks.
Joseph Santoliquito covers high school sports for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a frequent contributor to MaxPreps.com.
