Mars cruises to victory
O'HARA TWP — Two favorites had already bowed from the WPIAL boys lacrosse playoffs by losing to Freeport.
Mars wasn't about to become the Yellowjackets' third victim.
The Planets set the tone early in Monday's Class AA semifinal at Fox Chapel High School, outscoring Freeport 7-0 in the first quarter of a 19-5 victory.
Senior Mike Doyle tallied five goals alone in the first 12 minutes and finished with a school single-game record 12 tallies.
“I was excited because we got rolling early,” said Doyle. “The guys around me were playing well, too. We started off the way we wanted.”
Mars (17-3) advances to its fourth straight district championship game where it will face Hampton at 6 p.m. Friday at Robert Morris University.
It was the second time this season the Planets pinned a 19-5 loss on Freeport, also doing it in the regular season.
“We were contesting the faceoffs tonight, which we didn't do in that first meeting,” said Freeport coach Dave Riley. “But Mars is just a fundamentally good team. They move well off the ball.
“Defense is about moving your feet, not chasing the stick,” he added. “We did well with it in practice, but tonight, we were chasing the stick. We had nobody to match up with (Doyle).”
Doyle scored another goal early in the second quarter for an 8-0 lead before the 'Jackets received two scores from Sean Fennel to cut the Planet lead to 8-2 with 6:47 left in the first half.
That would be as close as Freeport would get. Doyle and teammate Wes Scurci both found the net in the final 16 seconds of the half for a 12-3 edge.
“We got off to a quick start tonight and that's often the key for us,” said Mars coach Bob Marcoux. “Once we got possession, we did a good job of being patient. We waited for a good shot instead of taking the first shot.”
Scoring three goals for Mars was Chris Sicher. Scurci added two while Zane Mundy and Austin Cote both scored once. Planet goalie Gavin Honeycutt stopped six shots.
“I'm confident going into the final,” Marcoux said. “We had some guys hurt tonight and we didn't play them. They could have gone in an emergency and we hope to have them back Friday.”
Garrett Schauffhauser scored twice and Case Haberstroh once for Freeport, which received six saves from Greg Smith.
The Yellowjackets (9-8), the tournament's bottom seed, knocked off No. 5 Chartiers Valley and No. 4 Moon to reach the semifinal round.
Monday's loss is not the end of Freeport's season. The 'Jackets will face Xxxxx at 4 p.m. Friday at RMU to decide who gets the WPIAL's third and final berth into the state playoffs.
“This team has a lot of grit,” said Riley. “I could tell by looking at them coming off the field, they'll be ready to go.”
