By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/8/10
Two District 1 teams that know each well will vie for a spot in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) girls’ lacrosse finals, while two teams that know very little about each other will meet for the second championship berth today.
Radnor, the District 1 champ, will face District 3 runner-up Unionville at West Chester East at 4 p.m. in one semifinal, while District 1 runner-up Springfield-Delco takes on District 3 champ Manheim Township at Gov. Mifflin High at 4 p.m. in the other match.
While the Red Raiders and Indians just met two weeks ago in the District 1 semifinals (a 12-9 Radnor win), Springfield-Delco has not faced any team form District 3 in recent years.
Manheim (23-0), now ranked No. 5 in the PA Media Rankings, comes in as the only undefeated team in the state. The Blue Streaks, coached by Lisa Lyons, have been scoring goals in bunches, averaging 18.5 goals in the playoffs.
Manheim Township, the champion of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, is led by league MVP Devon Schneider, a sophomore midfielder. Rachael Rosenfeld, Molly Curcio, Molly Hendrick, Megan Pinkerton and Carolyn Westphal lead a young attack while seniors Margaret Hoerner, Taylor Richards and Katie Ball lead an experienced defense.
Sophomore goalie Shannon Nee is a two-time first-team all-league performer.
The second-ranked Cougars (22-2) have been getting more than four goals a game from senior midfielder Shannon Burns in the playoffs. Senior attack Valerie Paolucci has also been a key cog on offense and senior Janel Folkomer has been a standout in the goal.
Radnor’s hopes to return to the PIAA finals hinge on shutting down the potent Unionville (22-3, ranked No. 3) attack, which is led by Lindsey Smith, Lizzy Carney, Erin Linthicum and Lisa Riondet. Melissa Lloyd is a standout in goal.
No. 1 Radnor (24-1) is paced by Kelyn Freedman, Allie Martin, Courtney Campbell, Ellis Kraus and Ali Kelly on attack while defender Alyssa Dunlap and goalie Annie Woehling have led the backline.
Tuesday’s winners will meet Saturday at noon at HersheyPark Stadium for the PIAA crown.
