Springfield Delco lacrosse is full of brother/sister acts
Board games, basketball, or lacrosse. It never really mattered. There was a time when Julianne Clemens would compete her hardest to ensure her younger brother, Pat, wouldn't win.
Board games, basketball, or lacrosse. It never really mattered.
There was a time when Julianne Clemens would compete her hardest to ensure her younger brother, Pat, wouldn't win.
Saturday afternoon during the PIAA lacrosse championships at West Chester East, however, the duo will be one of several sets of siblings to compete for state championships on their respective Springfield Delco squads.
"We'd always be playing around, and whatever game it was we always wanted to win, whether it was monopoly, basketball, or lacrosse outside," said Julianne, a senior goaltender.
Later, she added, "It's kind of crazy to think that we both are in [the state championships] and [could] win it. It's wild."
Pat Clemens, a sophomore defenseman for the defending state champion Cougars, will help Springfield take on West Chester Henderson at 2 p.m. in the boys' Class 2A final.
Julianne Clemens, who will play at West Chester next year, hopes to stifle Archbishop Carroll's high-powered offense in the 3A girls' championship at noon.
"It's really exciting," Julianne Clemens said. "We [lost] in the state championship my freshman year, but I didn't really play much. It's exciting to finally be on the field with a chance to win it myself."
A game-winning goal by senior Sam Swart with 59 seconds left helped Carroll slide past Springfield, 10-9, in a May 6 regular-season contest.
Carroll's combo of Swart (Syracuse) and junior Katie Detwiler (Loyola, Md.) certainly presents a formidable obstacle.
Growing up, Julianne Clemens was the roadblock as Pat and the duo's older brother, Billy, played one-on-one.
"It actually happened a lot," Julianne said. "That's kind of how I got good. I practiced a lot with my brothers with them shooting on me, one playing defense and one playing offense."
On the boys' side, Pat Clemens has been a star for a Cougars' defense that helped Springfield hold off Henderson, 4-3, in the District 1 title game.
Last season, Pat Clemens said he learned from senior leaders Zach Methlie and Pat Smith.
Now under the tutelage of senior goalie James Spence, who is headed for Lehigh, and senior defenseman Nick Matty, Pat's game has blossomed.
"This year I've had to step up my role," Pat said. "I [usually] play one of the best players on every team, and I'm just trying to play my role the best I can."
The offensive side is also home to even more siblings.
Kyle Long, a standout junior middie committed to NCAA national champion Maryland, is the older brother of Alyssa, a freshman middie on the girls' side.
Wonder twins Gina and Joe DeBernardi are a junior middie and attacker, respectively.
And Mike Ward is a senior middie, while his sister, Katie, is an attacker/middie for the girls' squad.
"I don't think we ever talked about it until it actually happened," Julianne Clemens said. "We're all friends with each other, so when we found out it was possible, we really rooted for each other's teams because we wanted to be in it together."
Seeking solidarity may have always been in her heart.
In middle school, Clemens said her indoor winter team rotated alphabetically so that each player took a turn as goalie, sometimes an unpopular position.
During a playoff game, she said it was the turn of current teammate Bridget Whitaker (now a senior), who was the team's best offensive threat.
So, Clemens volunteered to get in goal and hasn't looked back.
She has been a starter since her sophomore year and now has a chance to ensure a state championship in her final game.
"It would be just the greatest way to end my high school career," she said. "I really want to win it for our coaches and all our teammates. Our coaches haven't won it yet, and I want to be the team that does it for them."
@AceCarterINQ