Shaking It Off
WEXFORD — Missed shots from point-blank range, turnovers and missed defensive assignments.
The effort of Mars' boys lacrosse team in the first half Tuesday wasn't the caliber of play that coach Bob Marcoux has become used to.
“It was the WPIAL hangover,” said Marcoux, whose team won its third straight district title last Friday. “We played with so much enthusiasm and energy the last two games, it's tough to sustain that kind of play. But we have to do better.”
The Planets did better in the second half. A lot better.
Mars scored the first 11 goals of the second half and rolled to a 20-8 victory over Cathedral Prep in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium.
Senior attackman Brendan Moyer had a message for his teammates at halftime, with the Planets holding a slim 6-5 lead.
“I just told the guys that we knew it was on the line,” he said. “This was win or go home. We have 18 seniors and we didn't want it to end here.”
Moyer then went out and scored Mars' 10th and 11th goals of the game as the Planets never did allow the Ramblers to regain the momentum.
“Brendan deserves a lot of credit,” Marcoux said. “He talked the talk, then walked the walk.”
Anthony Grieco set the tone for the second half when he scored just 22 seconds into the third quarter. Michael Doyle and Owen Corsi followed with goals before Mars goalie Will Scurci made a save on a shot from close range from Prep's Jake Emerson with 6:45 left in the period. Moyer's two goals followed shortly after and the Planets' avalanche began to bury the Ramblers.
“Mars (18-1) is a very deep team,” said Prep coach Nathan Reichel, whose team also lost to Mars in the first round last season, 18-8. “We've kept tabs on them all season. Our guys kept competing, but we were just out-gunned.”
It wasn't a lack of shots in the first half. In fact, the Planets dominated time of possession early, but had trouble finding the net. Some shots sailed high or wide while Prep goalie Tim Klebanski made 12 saves in the first two quarters.
“He made a ton of saves,” said Marcoux. “He's definitely the best goalie we've faced all year.”
Prep received three straight goals — from John Lupo, Emerson and Johnathan Zambroski — to take a 5-4 lead with 7:30 left in the first half.
Mars grabbed the lead before halftime thanks to goals from Grieco and Hayden Vasbinder.
“We told the guys at halftime that we were fine,” said Marcoux. “With as good as they (Ramblers) played in the first half and as bad as we played, we still led by one goal. We just needed to start playing with a bit of energy.”
Multi-goal scorers for Mars included Doyle (4), Cade Hetzler (3), Grieco (3), Brendan Moyer (2) and Andrew Moyer (2).
Scurci finished the game with four saves. Klebanski stopped 16 shots.
This was the second straight season that the Ramblers (9-10) saw their season ended by the Planets in the first round. Mars prevailed 18-8 last season.
Mars will face Palmyra in the quarterfinals Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
