ADAMS TWP — Her talent and experience have turned Karina Latsko into a complete high school lacrosse player.

And Seneca Valley is reaping the benefits.

Latsko, a senior midfielder and four-year starter, scored seven goals to lead the Raider onslaught in a 17-8 girls victory over Mars on a soggy Friday night at the Mars Athletic Complex.

SV's reliance on its star is nothing new. Latsko led the team in scoring in 2016.

“She sees the whole field and that is something I value as a coach,” said Raider coach Katie Smolter. “She's a leader and the other girls respect her and learn a lot from her.”

Latsko, a Butler University recruit, has seen her game evolve over the last three years.

She earned a spot in SV's starting lineup as a defender her freshman season.

“As a freshman, it's rough,” she said. “You're kind of weak going out there against a lot of players, but my confidence has really improved since then.”

Latsko was part of the Raiders' surge Friday after falling behind 3-0 in the first three minutes of the game.

Following goals by teammates Lauren Podolec and Lauren Martin, Latsko found the net to tie the score with 16:39 remaining in the first half. The Planets would never lead again.

Latsko scored two more times before Jenny Listwak, Podolec, Olivia Ruppert and Madison Edkins all followed with a tally that gave the Raiders a 9-5 lead at halftime.

“Seneca Valley (2-1) is a tough team and they are in a (higher class, AAA),” said first-year Mars coach Cara Dumont. “We just had a few small mistakes that hurt us.”

Mars (2-2) grabbed a quick shot of momentum when Aurora Marcoux scored just 35 seconds into the second half, but the Raiders answered by scoring the next five goals, three of them courtesy of Latsko.

Early in the game, it was the Planets who maintained possession and it translated into goals from Paige Seles (2) and Emily Grieco.

That's when Latsko and Co. began to dominate, due in large part to the senior's consistent ability to win faceoffs.

“For me, it comes down to quick hands,” she said. “It doesn't matter who is bigger or stronger, it's who is quicker.”

Latsko has faith that her teammates can support her by finding the net. Against Mars, Ruppert and Edkins both managed three goals.

“We have a lot of girls who can score and that takes a lot of pressure off of me,” Latsko said. “As long as we're scoring more as a team, that's what matters to me.”

Seles paced Mars with three goals. Grieco and Cassie Buzzelli both scored twice.

“We don't have one girl scoring a lot of goals,” said Dumont, “but all of our attack and midfielders have scored so far.”

In goal, Liz Hanks made four saves for the Raiders and Emily Hayward eight for the Planets.

Three freshmen and four sophomores were included in Mars' starting lineup.

“The lineup is pretty fluid,” said Dumont. “It depends on who does well in practice the day before a game. We have a lot of young girls and are tweaking things right now, but I have confidence in them.”