5/22/09 Philadelphia Inquirer: Springfield defeats Radnor in girls lax
Springfield stuns Radnor in final
By Aaron Bracy
For The Inquirer
The underdog finally had its day.
Madison Poplawski and Samantha Tulskie each scored four goals to lead third-seeded Springfield (Delaware County) to a 14-9 victory over top-seeded and heavily favored Radnor in the District 1 girls’ lacrosse championship last night at Marple Newtown.
The Cougars (21-2), who never trailed, avenged a 15-5 regular-season loss while handing Radnor (20-1) its first defeat with a shockingly easy victory.
Springfield started fast, scoring five of the first seven goals, then withstood a Radnor rally before finishing off the victory with the final four goals.
“We’ve been getting better every day, and we’ve improved a lot from the first game,” Springfield coach Keith Broome said. “It was a great team effort. Nobody counted on us winning, but we believed in ourselves.”
The Cougars earned the overall top seed in the first ever PIAA girls’ lacrosse state tournament and will play Boyertown on Tuesday in the opening round.
Poplawski and Tulskie combined for five goals as Springfield raced out to a 7-2 lead 10 minutes into the contest, as the Cougars won seven of 10 faceoffs and owned a 10-4 shot advantage early on.
Radnor came charging back, scoring six of the next seven, before Tulskie’s fourth tally of the opening half sent Springfield into halftime up 9-8.
“The early goals were key,” Poplawski said.
