Powerful Planets
JACKSON TWP — The Mars girls soccer team came into its WPIAL 3A quarterfinal match against Montour with 12 shutouts this season.
But it's been the offense that has largely set the tone for the undefeated Planets this season.
“Every game we play we try to start quick,” said Mars sophomore Ellie Coffield. “That's our big plan for the game. Sometimes we don't always follow though, but we try.”
Mars followed through Wednesday night against Montour.
Taylor Hamlett scored off a corner kick from Anna Kurpakus in the 11th minute and Coffield and Samantha King also found the back of the net in the first half as Mars cruised to a 3-0 win over the Spartans at Seneca Valley's NexTier Stadium.
“People always say defense wins championships, and once we get farther and hopefully keep winning, defense will definitely be important,” Coffield said. “But so far the offense has been big for us.”
Mars (17-0) scored nine goals in its first playoff game against Greensburg Salem Saturday and came out aggressively against Montour (12-7) Wednesday night.
The Planets had several prime scoring chances beyond the goals they scored in the first half and peppered Montour goalkeeper Sarah Malinsky with 14 shots in the contest.
“We feel like we can score goals,” said Mars coach Blair Gerlach. “Even when we are shut down in spurts in the game, I feel like we still have enough.
“I think our defense keeps things pretty clean and pretty tight,” Gerlach added. “It allows our offense to take some chances.”
Montour had a couple of chances in the first half, but put little pressure on Mars or its keeper, Clair Valentine, who had five saves in the match.
The Planets defense was stingier in the final 40 minutes.
“(Montour was) playing an interesting formation,” Gerlach said. “They were playing kind of a system where they were going to defend first and then try to counter. When you counter and you counter randomly, it's hard to predict. We weren't sure where they were going to come out.”
Still, Mars ended up with the shutout against a Montour team that had scored just four goals in its last seven matches.
Mars, however, wasn't taking anything for granted.
“We treat every team like they're dangerous,” said Mars senior defender Kaitlyn Pietrusinski. “One slip up and one goal could be the difference in a game.”
The Planets will play Hampton, which downed Ambridge in overtime Wednesday in another quarterfinal, in the semifinals Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
Hampton gave Mars trouble in both meetings this season. The Talbots scored three of the five goals the Planets have coughed up this campaign in September as Mars hung on for a 4-3 victory.
Earlier this month, the Planets eked out a 1-0 win over Hampton.
“At some point we're going to start a game slow and make a mistake and have to chase the game a little bit,” Gerlach said. “Then we'll see if our youth is going to be a factor.
“We're the youngest team still going,” he added. “If we make some noise, great. If we don't, we'll come back and learn from it.”
