Delaware County Proves It’s the Hub of High School Lacrosse in Pennsylvania

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Members of the Archbishop Carroll girls lacrosse team hold up a trophy in victory.
Images via Digital First Media.

Between the boys and girls, a total of four Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association titles were up for grabs last weekend at West Chester East High School.

Three of them were won by Delaware County schools.

Led by Syracuse-bound senior Sam Swart, the Archbishop Carroll girls defeated Springfield, 9-8, in an All-Delco final in the PIAA Class AAA bracket. In victory, the Patriots from the Catholic school on Matsonford Road became the first group of girls from outside the Central League – which is comprised mostly of Delco schools – to win a state title since the PIAA began sponsoring this fast-growing sport in 2009.

Carroll’s neighbor of less than a mile, the Radnor girls were powered by Notre Dame signee Nicole Massimino, and crushed Kennard-Dale, 20-8, in the PIAA Class AA final.

And the Springfield boys, motivated by the girls’ heartbreaker, won their second state title in a row, capturing the PIAA Class AA crown with a 9-8 victory over West Chester Henderson.

Those results reiterate what many people in Delaware County have known for years – that nowhere in the Keystone State is high school lacrosse played on a level higher than it is here.

“Radnor lacrosse has a real legacy,” Massimino told the Daily Times. “Last year, we made it to the championship game but lost. That just made us want to do what we did today even more.”

The Red Raiders previously won state titles in 2009 and 2010. The Garnet Valley girls, meanwhile, won state titles in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015.

“It’s just probably the best lacrosse community in the state of Pennsylvania,” Springfield’s Kyle Long, a Maryland recruit, said of his hometown to the Daily Times. “Everybody gives back to the program, and the young kids, they love it and they idolize it, and I think we try our best to be good role models for them. That’s why Springfield is good.

“When you see third-, fourth-, fifth-graders out there working on their game on a hot summer night instead of hanging out with their friends, they’re trying to get better and trying to be in our spot one day, winning state championships.”

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