Burns propels Cougars' advance

Shannon Burns scored five of her team's 12 goals on Saturday, including the game-winner with less than a minute left, to lift Springfield (Delco) over Archbishop Carroll, 12-11, in a PIAA quarterfinal lacrosse matchup.

"Just a great individual effort by Shannon Burns," Cougars coach Keith Broome said of the winning goal. The senior midfielder is headed to the University of Delaware in the fall.

Earlier in the season, Springfield beat Carroll by the same score. The Cougars had won their first-round tournament game by two goals, making their tournament experience nerve-racking.

"I talked to the parents after the game - they said it gave them heart failure," Broome joked.

Springfield was down by two with just three minutes to go but rallied, getting goals from Maddy Lynch and Valerie Paolucci, who tied the score at 11 with a little over a minute to play.

Janel Folkomer, Springfield's goalie, then made a huge save, stopping Gabby Hull's point-blank shot. The save gave Burns the opportunity to win the game.

"Nobody deserved to lose the game," Broome said. "This time of the year, it's really hard for the kids. They are thinking about graduating, senior week. Our job is to try to keep the kids from checking out."

The Cougars (22-2) will face Manheim Township of District 3 in a semifinal Tuesday at Governor Mifflin High in Shillington, Berks County.

"We are happy to be where we are, happy to play someone outside of District 1," Broome said. "It's nice to see a fresh face."

The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the Radnor-Unionville game at West Chester East for the title.

Radnor beat Downingtown East, 20-12, in their quarterfinal while Unionville defeated Penn Manor, 21-9.

La Salle boys in semifinals. La Salle (20-2), the District 12 champion, beat Springfield (Delco), 8-5, in the state quarterfinals behind senior attack Christian Cardinal, who scored four goals.

The Explorers had lost to the Cougars, 11-5, in the first week of May, making the win a little sweeter for La Salle, which is looking to win a second straight PIAA title.

"Last time, we just felt they played really well and we played really poorly. We just wanted our pride back, to restore La Salle lacrosse to its place." coach Bill Leahy said.

To help do that, the Explorers decided to move Nick Cruice to attack, while Kevin Forster played midfield. The strategy seemed to work as Cruice and Forster both scored goals for the Explorers.

Also scoring were Colin Keegan and Pat Resch.

"We talked a lot about slowing the game down, making it very intellectual, surgical-like," Leahy said.

On Tuesday in State College, La Salle plays Seneca Valley, which beat District 7 champion Sewickley Academy, 12-7. The victor will face the winner of Conestoga and Manheim Township, who also play Tuesday at Governor Mifflin.

The members of La Salle's team are already out of school but will come back to practice to try to continue the winning tradition.

"Here's how you handle June: Everyone else is gone but you still work," Leahy said. "It'd be easy to go to the beach but it'd be so much more memorable to win a state championship."

Title games on TV. The boys' and girls' state championship games at Hershey Park Stadium will be televised by the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

The boys' game will be televised live at 2 p.m. Saturday, and a replay will be shown at 6 that evening. The girls' game, which will start at noon, will be shown at 4 p.m., with a replay at 8.