Springfield (Delco) boys take District 1 lacrosse crown
Anthony Divarios gritty effort inspired the Cougars in a 4-3 triumph over West Chester Henderson.
Anthony Divario is neither the fastest nor the most athletic player on the lacrosse field.
In fact, that would be next to impossible right now because the Springfield (Delco) senior defenseman has been playing with two sprained ankles and an aching back that he hurt during football season.
Thursday evening, however, Divario was part of a stout Cougars defense that helped Springfield seize the District 1 Class 2A title with a 4-3 victory over West Chester Henderson.
During the celebratory postgame huddle, coach Tom Lemieux gathered his defending state champion squad and singled out Divario's performance.
"That's never really happened to me before, so it feels great," Divario said, smiling. "I've never even gotten interviewed before. I'm playing with bad ankles and he knows I'm playing through a lot of pain."
Last week, Divario rolled his right ankle in a ditch during practice. Earlier this week, he rolled his left ankle in a semifinal win against Radnor.
"I just block it out," he said. "I play my game and don't let it stop me too much."
He added: "I'm more like the guy who likes to get down and dirty. Get tough. I like to take care of my goalie and my teammates. I'm not a selfish player. I put my team first."
During football season, Divario, who will attend Bloomsburg, injured his back in Week 8. But he continued to play outside linebacker through Week 13, the season's end.
"He's one of the toughest kids I've ever coached," Lemieux said. "We didn't even know if he'd play today. We've been through so much with this senior group. They're special and I'm glad they found a way to win."
Kyle Long orchestrated much of the Cougars offense. The junior Maryland recruit scored a goal and assisted on two others, including the decisive goal by Mike Tulski with 1 minute, 1 second left in the third quarter.
From there, Divario, sophomore Pat Clemens, senior goalie James Spence, and the rest of the defense held tight.
Matt Turse tallied last for Henderson at 10:39 of the third frame. Henderson threatened again with less than a minute left in regulation, but Spence made a point-blank save and senior Mike Vent scooped the ground ball.
On Tuesday, Springfield will play the third seed in District 3 at a time and locale to be determined.
Springfield (D) 1 2 0 1 - 4
W.C. Henderson 1 1 1 0 - 3
S: Ben Garcia, Joe Debarnardie, Kyle Long, Mike Tulski.
H: Archer Rymiszewski, Nick Mascetti, Matt Turse.
Saves: S-James Spence 8; H-Kyle Dampman 4
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