NEW WILMINGTON — The Mars girls soccer team felt it was prepared for this very scenario.

After 110 minutes of play had yielded a 1-1 stalemate with Villa Maria Academy in Saturday's Class 3A state quarterfinal, the game's outcome was decided by penalty kicks.

It took just six total attempts to decide things as the Victors found the net on all three of their tries while Mars was turned away each time in Villa Maria's 2-1 win at Wilmington High School's Greyhound Stadium.

“Over the last month, we spent a lot of time practicing penalty kicks,” said Planet coach Blair Gerlach. “We were confident coming in, but you get into a game and it can be a stressful situation.”

Mars junior defender Kaitlyn Pietrusinski was first up and Alex Velez made the save. Down 1-0, Maggie Williams tried to tuck a shot inside the right post, but Velez made a diving stop. Now behind 2-0, Elise Tacik's attempt was just high of the net.

Kylie Frantz and Kat Costa scored on Villa Maria's first two attempts against Mars' Claire Valentine and Abby Grychowski scored on the third to end Mars' season.

“The last time we were involved in a game decided by PKs was three years ago,” said Victor coach Peter Wagner. “So a lot of these girls had never done it in a game.

“I give a lot of credit to our keeper,” he added. “A big game like this and she's only a sophomore. She gave up a goal against South Park in the first round (of states) and was in tears. It shows how hard she's worked and how committed she is.”

The Planets (17-3) were less than five minutes away from earning a trip to the semifinals when Villa Maria tied the game at 1-1. Mars was whistled for a foul nearly 30 yards from its net, giving the Victors a free kick. Abby Godlewski's shot was too high for Valentine with 4:37 remaining in the second half.

“In a playoff game like this and against a great Mars team, you just have to keep working, keep pushing,” said Wagner. “Fortunately, we were able to get a foul called near the top of the box and made the most of it.”

Mars sophomore forward Taylor Hamlett was in the middle of several scoring chances in the first half. It was only fitting she was involved in the first goal of the game. Her pass set up Maggie Williams to the right of Villa Maria's net. Velez made a diving attempt to her right on Williams' shot, but the ball ended up in the left corner of the net just over four minutes into the second half.

“Taylor attracts a lot of attention and is often double-teamed,” said Gerlach. “It opens things up for other players. She led the team in assists this season and is near the top in goals.”

Aside from the shootout, Velez made five saves for the Victors (18-2-1). Valentine had three stops for Mars.

“They (Victors) had the ball a little more than we did, but I know we out-chanced them,” Gerlach said. “This was a game we should have won in regulation.”

Mars started four freshmen this season. In the WPIAL championship game Nov. 3, the Planets faced a Moon team that is still playing and fell in a tight 3-2 contest.

“We lost seven starters from last year's team and this was supposed to be a difficult-go for us this season,” added Gerlach. “We definitely exceeded expectations.”