"It's what we were hoping for," said Kerri Crumlish, who scored both Sacred Heart goals in the victory over the Indians. "We're going to enjoy playing them again."

Villa Maria swept the three previous games with Sacred Heart by 5-0, 3-1 and 3-0 scores, but that doesn't bother Crumlish.

"If it's very difficult to beat a team three times in a season, it's got to be that much harder to win four times," the junior forward said.

Crumlish pointed out that Merion Mercy is already assured of a spot in the PIAA playoffs. The top three finishers in the district earn state playoff berths.

Both of Crumlish's goals against Upper Perkiomen came off offensive penalty corners. Crumlish inserted the ball on both and got it back to score twice in the first half. She has 13 goals for the season.

After the Lions were eliminated in the first round of the district playoffs last season, coach Suzanne Finley had a question for the team.

"I asked them, 'Where do you want to be next year?' They said they wanted to go much further. They set some high goals for themselves."

In a twist, Finley will be facing her former coach in the finals. Finley was a sweeper for Villa coach Maurene Polley before graduating in 2003.

Enjoying the season

Nixon spent more than 30 years as the Spartans' coach. But after she retired as a teacher, a PIAA rule that did not allow retired teachers to coach forced her to step down. That rule has been rescinded, and Nixon eventually came back as Coll's assistant.

"Katie's intention is to come back," Nixon said, "but I am so passionate about hockey, I hated to see the girls have to go through a big transition. I know field hockey, so I applied for the job. It's been fun, and the girls are great."

Despite the loss to the Hurricanes, the Spartans (15-4) have a shot at the final district spot in the state playoffs when they face Upper Perkiomen tomorrow at a site to be determined.

"We'll have to put that game against Villa behind us," Nixon said. "We just didn't come out for the second half."

Springfield was ahead, 1-0, at halftime but couldn't keep pace with the Hurricanes' awakened offense in the second half.

League improving

Last year, the Lions surprised Wissahickon in the opening round of state play before being ousted by Central Bucks South.

When the Catholic League joined the PIAA last season, there were questions about how competitive it would be.

Nelson points to the competitiveness of the league this season. Unfortunately, the second-seeded Lions became a victim of it when they lost to fourth-seeded Archbishop Prendergast on Monday in the league championship game.

Archbishop Prendergast's Brooke Stretch scored the lone goal of the game with less than three minutes to go in the second overtime.

"The schools [in the league] are upgrading their non-league schedules," Nelson said. "I've had some [non-league] schools turn us down for a game now. What they could usually pencil in as a win isn't anymore."

It will be Prendergast and Archbishop Carroll carrying the Catholic League banner in this year's District 12 title games on Saturday. The Pandas will face Northeast in the AAA game, and Carroll will play Rhodes in the AA game at the Public League's super-site in Germantown.