Springfield surges past Harriton in lacrosse

Dan O'Connell's sweatpants fluttered in the brisk, evening wind as he stood straight up in the net, holding his goalie stick across his body in both hands and watching most of the game's action take place across the field.

The senior goalie faced zero shots before being removed after three quarters, as Springfield (Delco) scored rapidly to build a nine-goal lead at halftime on its way to a 12-2 victory over visiting Harriton on Tuesday night in a Central League boys' lacrosse game.

Springfield (3-1 overall) got on the board early, as the Cougars scored twice on their first three shots of the game.

Freshman attack Brian Todaro scored 1 minute, 38 seconds into the game and was followed roughly a minute later by Joe Venit, a senior captain who is ticketed for St. John's.

Before being subbed for at halftime, Venit netted three goals and added two assists. He scored two goals over a 25-second span of the second quarter.

"I try to show my leadership with my play on the field," Venit said, his triangle-shaped eye black having faded under his face mask.

The Cougars' relentless offensive attack led to most of the game being played in the Harriton zone, as they held the Rams (1-4) scoreless until early in the fourth quarter.

Springfield aggressively attacked each loose ball and defeated the Rams on most of the face-offs.

"We're pretty athletic defensively, and offensively, we try to stress patience and poise," Springfield coach Tom Lemieux said.

Late in the first quarter, with the scoreboard clock behind him and out of sight, Venit cradled the ball toward the net as his teammates on the bench loudly counted down the final 10 seconds of the period.

"We try to work on the last shot if it's under two minutes, and Joe does a nice job of leading our offense down there and understanding the game," Lemieux said.

The senior said he was aware of the situation, as he heard his coach yell "cannon," which means get the ball on net.

As he approached the goal, Venit looked to see if his shot would become open or if teammate Vince Marra would free up in the slide position. The latter occurred, and Venit found an open Marra for a quick goal to put the team ahead, 3-0.

Sophomore midfielder Quin Pompi added two goals and an assist, and Venit said it was good to see the team's younger players contribute in the win. As a senior, Venit said he sees himself as someone his teammates can look up to.

"I try to interact with everyone," Venit said. "I pretty much try to play the best and lead them."

Harriton   0 0 0 2 – 2

Springfield   3 6 1 2 – 12

Goals: H-Scott Scheurle, Harry Pillion; S-Brian Todaro, Joe Venit 3, Vince Marra, Quin Pompi 2, Mike Dezzi, Tom Addis, Jesse Martin, Tyler Smith 2.

Saves H-Jake Marks 12; S-Dan O'Connell 0, Jeremy Cavanaugh 1.