Follow One Percent Lacrosse on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
Neither of the past two PIAA Class AAA state champions had a loss coming into Thursday night’s Springfield vs. Conestoga showdown.
The Cougars down the Pioneers by a goal in last year’s state semifinals before winning their first state title since 2019. Conestoga was the one celebrating at Penn State in 2024 after the Pioneers rolled past rival Radnor in the final. It’s almost a virtual certainty that they will meet again at some point in the postseason. If Thursday was any indicator, there’s a very good chance that one of them will be the one standing alone atop the mountain on June 13.
Conestoga was the one that put a crooked number in the other’s loss column. Drexel commit Bianca Antonacci led the Pioneers with three points, Colorado commit Courtney Smock stopped eight shots and sophomore Julia Cowgill led a fierce defense as Conestoga fended off Springfield’s comeback attempt for an 8-7 win. The Pioneers led, 8-3, with 4:01 to play after sophomore Brooke Bickel‘s second goal of the game. After that, though, Springfield pieced together a 4-0 run that featured two goals from sophomore Eva Lemieux and the Cougars had a final draw with 11 seconds to go. The Cougars couldn’t corral the ball, though, and the Pioneers escaped with the win.
Rematch(es) in the Postseason?
“Oh, very nerve-wracking,” junior Lu Misener said with a smile. “I think that it was ebbs and flows. I feel like (Springfield’s run) was very much expected. We had our runs, they had their runs.”
“A little bit of anxiety,” Smock added, “but just courage the whole way. I trust all of my defenders, I trust my middies, I trust my attackers, that they’ll get us through those last 10 seconds. They’ll fight for every single thing. They’ll go get in front of it for me to make sure nothing happens.”
The Pioneers looked like they’d turned a highly-anticipated prime time showdown into a bit of a laugher after Bickel’s second of the game came off of a feed from senior Penn State signee Carolyn Jones (two assists). Cowgill, senior Duquesne commit Sofia Calvitti and senior Katie Mierzwa each had two caused turnovers in front of Smock. Conestoga held Springfield off the scoreboard for a 14:34 as it built its lead before Lemieux set up fellow sophomore Mia Wainwright for a Cougar goal.
“I think we just want to do it for everyone,” Smock said while deflecting away individual praise. “We want to do it for each other, no matter what. Everything we do is selfless and we do it for each other. If someone’s open in the slot, they’re going to cover their girl. We’re really good at communicating and we just have really good team chemistry on defense.”
If a rematch is anything like this game, sign us up.
Conestoga vs. Springfield Standouts
Bianca Antonacci ’27, attack, Conestoga (Pa.) / Philly Blast – Drexel
The future Dragon was at the forefront of the Pioneers’ offense opening things up after a slow offensive start for both teams. She canned a high-to-low 8-meter shot to give Conestoga the lead, then showed off her feeding ability on a pair of Pioneer goals. Antonacci hit Tori Hewitt with a pass to set up the Fairleigh Dickinson righty rip. She then worked well on the wing to initiate and draw the defensive attention, which freed up a Julia Cowgill (more below) on a cut. Antonacci has a really good first step and always has her head up, particularly when she initiates from behind the cage. She also put forth four draw controls and three ground balls in a nod to her ability to impact the game in a number of ways.
Julia Cowgill ’28, midfield, Conestoga (Pa.) / Philly Blast
Conestoga’s defense was lights-out for the game’s first 45 minutes and Cowgill was at the heart of it all. You couldn’t miss 4 out there with how she flew around and impacted the Pioneers’ defense in a number of ways. She showed excellent footwork and lateral agility when covering up top and she altered a number of offensive looks with her outstanding stickwork. Cowgill, a starter as a freshman, is also a soccer player and runs track, and you can see how the three-sport athleticism translates. She probably doesn’t even need a stick to cover because she’s that effective when moving her feet and anticipating the offense’s next move. A true middie in every sense of the word, Cowgill finished with a goal, four ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers, and it felt like she did even more than that.
Eva Lemieux ’28, midfield, Springfield (Pa.) / Big 4 HHH
Probably the most impactful player on the field for either team, Lemieux marries a combination of athleticism and pure power to make her almost impossible to cover. She has a quick first step but, even as a sophomore, is stronger than almost anyone on the field. Lemieux shrugs off contact and routinely gets to the spot that she wants. She was the offensive catalyst for the Cougars, scoring three times and setting up another to go with three draw controls. Lemieux is incredibly difficult to slow down once she gets a head of steam, which doesn’t take long to materialize. Lemieux loves to sweep across the middle and is comfortable shooting from up top or down the alley. She scored twice 2:10 apart as part of a Cougar 4-0 run that set up the final draw for a chance to tie it.
Courtney Smock ’27, goalie, Conestoga (Pa.) / Philly Blast – Colorado
Smock wasn’t called upon a ton in the first half, but she came up with some big second-half saves to cement an eight-save performance. The future Buff showed impressive lateral agility when she had to go post-to-post, particularly on an early save on Katie Keffer where the West Chester commit was left wide-open on the crease. Smock is a smaller goalie, but she’s very quick and has fast hands to get to shots anywhere on cage. She easily scooped up a low 8-meter in the third quarter.
Mia Wainwright ’28, midfield, Springfield (Pa.) / Big 4 HHH
Much like Cowgill for Conestoga, you can’t miss 7 on the field. She is EVERYWHERE, and it never seems like she gets tired. Her work on the draw in the fourth quarter was a big part of why the Cougars even had a chance to tie it late. The sophomore, who started last year on the Cougars’ state-title winning team, has excellent speed and a terrific first step that she often used to track down ground balls. She also had a great takeaway where she got beat inside but recovered just in time to lift Lia Messina‘s stick to take the ball away.