Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/25/23 – From Staff Report
Penncrest junior Kate Stanton made it clear what today’s 13-12 District 1 girls’ 3A semifinal win over top-seeded Springfield-Delco means to her program.
“This win is a turning point for our program and the future of Penncrest,” she said after Kaitlyn Roth’s goal with 13 seconds to play gave her team the win. “I think that defeating the top seed has shown our team that we have the potential to have a strong lacrosse reputation and that now we can be a team to fear in the Central League.
“Making the 3A district championship game for the first time means that our team has proven that we are just as good as any other team.”
The Lions’ win advances them into Wednesday’s title game vs. Owen J. Roberts – a 7-4 winner over Conestoga – at a site and time to be determined. Springfield-Delco (18-2) will host Conestoga in the third-place game on Tuesday.
Penncrest (18-3) had fallen to Springfield-Delco, 16-7, just three weeks earlier. Springfield went on to win the Central League with an 11-0 mark.
And after the Lions jumped to a 4-0 lead today, the Cougars went on an 8-4 run. But Penncrest did not panic.
“Our mentality during this time was ‘we scored 4 quick goals right away, we can do it again.'” said Stanton, a Penn commit. “In our huddle, the coaches reminded us that we are able to make a comeback just like Springfield did, and we honestly just knew that we had nothing to lose since we were the 4th seed.”
Stanton finished with three goals (including the 200th of her career), seven draw controls, two groundballs, and a caused turnover. Roth had three goals, two assists, four caused turnovers, three groundballs and a draw control while Kathryn Harding added three goals, two assists, and five draw controls. Adisyn Bernhardt had two goals and an assist and Mira Kuttymartin had three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
The winning goal came after Springfield was hit with a charging foul deep in Penncrest territory. Roth started the run downfield with a pass to Reese Bigler (one goal) and Harding took the next pass before feeding a streaking Roth.
Penncrest will be making its first appearance in the state tournament. But first, the Lions seek their first District 1 crown.
“The team’s success is credited to the competitiveness and dedication that all of our starters have for lacrosse,” said Stanton. “This is a unique group for Penncrest lacrosse because we all mainly focus on lacrosse year-round, and we all understand that our mentality means everything.
“We play with an unselfish fire in our hearts and have learned to trust and rely on each other. Our bench has also contributed heavily by constantly cheering and supporting the players on the field, which uplifts us and motivates us to work harder to win.”
Roth scored all three of her goals after Springfield had seized an 11-7 lead. She had back-to-back tallies in a span of 56 seconds to spark another Penncrest rally as the Lions went up, 12-11.
Mia Valerio later tied the game at 12 and it stayed that way for more than 6 minutes until the game0-winner.
Maddie Kane netted three goals for the Cougars.
Penncrest 13, Springfield-Delco 12
Penncrest 7-6-13
Springfield-Delco 9-3-12
Penncrest
Kaitlyn Roth: 3G, 2A, 1DC, 3GB, 4CTO (Game winner w/ 13sec left)
Kathryn Harding: 3G, 2A, 5DC
Kate Stanton: 3G, 7DC, 2GB, 1CTO (200th, 201st & 202nd career goals)
Adisyn Bernhardt: 2G, 1A
Cara Childs: 1G, 1DC, 1GB
Reese Bigler: 1G
Mira Kuttymartin: 3GB, 2CTO
Taryn Tagtmeir: 2GB
Marissa Kamin: 1CTO
Celeste Cahill: 1CTO
Sara Knasiak: 8 saves