By Teddy Bailey
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/2/15
Mike Thompson scored three goals and three other players had a pair as Radnor dominated the second half and toppled Springfield-Delco, 12-5, today in the PIAA semifinals at Haverford High.
The Raiders (20-6) will play the St. Joseph’s Prep-Cumberland Valley winner Saturday at HersheyPark Stadium in their first PIAA title-game appearance after being eliminated in the state semis in 2014 and 2012.
Jack Norton had two goals and an assist while Drew Ryan and Clayton Proctor each had two goals for Radnor. Alex Andersen had nine saves, and several were key stops.
“I remember when we were freshmen and in this game,” senior goalie Andersen said. “You’re so close when you’re here, but you’re also so far.
“I know whoever we play in the finals is going to be a real good team, we’ll have to bring it just like we did today.”
Dan Wasson had three goals and an assist while Zac Dworkin won 11 of 21 face-offs for the Cougars (19-5).
“In the first quarter, I saw a good amount of shots – probably too many,” Andersen said. “But in the second half I might have only seen two shots. For a goalie seeing only two shots in a half, it’s pretty nice. It makes my job a little easier.”
Andersen’s defense made his job a lot easier. The Raider backfront, led by Mike Farnish and Dario Falcone, kept Springfield scoreless for over 16 minutes in the second half – allowing just two goals after halftime. They also held Cougar standout Lucas Spence to one goal.
“He’s a great player,” Falcone said of Spence. “We predicate our defense on anyone being able to play anyone. That’s what makes us so great. Our defense communicated and then our offense slowed the ball down – which was exactly what we needed.”
Springfield-Delco started out strong, taking a 4-3 second-quarter lead courtesy of all three Wasson goals and a pair of assists from Kyle Long. From there, Radnor dominated possession and limited any offensive threats en route to eight straight goals. The Cougars, the District 1 champions, took the state by storm this season with a magical postseason run.
“I’ll take our group out of any group out there,” Springfield head coach Tom Lemineux said. “They have a ton of heart and a ton of fight out there. I’m proud of our team. A lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the year. We surprised a lot of people – and this is a special season for us.”
Radnor, meanwhile, has one roadblock left in its state tournament run. Clayton Proctor is hoping that his team’s offense remains on the upward trend going into the state championship.
“I think it just keeps improving,” Proctor said of the offense. “At the beginning of the season, we weren’t really playing all six guys on offense. Now, at the end of the season, we’re playing great team offense and it keeps getting better and better.”
Face-off between Radnor and St. Joseph’s prep is set for 2:30 pm in Saturday’s state final – and the Raiders aren’t shying from the stardom.
“It’s a huge deal,” Proctor said. “It was obviously the main goal at the beginning of the season. We got one more; stay humble and go get ’em at Hershey.”
Radnor 3 2 3 4 – 12
Springfield-D 2 2 0 1- 5
Radnor
Thompson, Mike 3g
Norton, Jack 2g, 1a
Ryan, Drew 2g
Proctor, Clayton 2g
Albany, Kyler 1g
Regan, Phil 1g
Wilson, Jack 1g
Scheuerle, Cole 1a
Meyers, Tom 10-21 face offs
Andersen, Alex 9 saves
Springfield-Delco
Watson, Dan 3g, 1a
Spence, Lucas 1g
Long, Kyle 2a
Gerzabeck, Mike 1g, 1a
Blake, Colin 1a
Dworkin, Zac 11-21 face offs
Spence, James 4 saves
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