BELLE VERNON — If Mars had a kitchen sink, it could have thrown it at Belle Vernon goalkeeper Ian Connolly.

He probably would have stopped that too.

At Tuesday's WPIAL Class AA first-round soccer playoff game, Connolly made one impressive save after another in the second half, which allowed the Leopards to preserve a 1-0 victory at James Weir Stadium.

Connolly made 11 saves in the second half, including four in a four-minute span and three over the final four minutes to help give Belle Vernon (17-3-1) the first playoff win in the program's history.

"Ian was ready for this game," said Belle Vernon coach Chris Stasicha.

"We just kept hitting them and nine of out 10 days they go in," said Mars coach Blair Gerlach. "It was an even game. It could have gone either way."

Mars (13-5-1) controlled play for most of the second half, but the Planets couldn't get on the scoreboard.

"We weathered a tough storm," said Stasicha. "Mars is a great team. "Our guys showed a lot of heart. The ball was in our end for 15 to 20 minutes straight."

The only goal of the game came in unusual fashion just 3 minutes 48 seconds into the second half.

The Leopards' Jeff Fortuna centered a pass to Rob Miele, who promptly kicked a shot towards the net. The ball trickled past Mars keeper Drew Siegel, who charged the ball and deflected it.

A Mars defender was able to keep it out of the net temporarily, but Miele came back in front and put the ball into the corner of the goal.

"He willed it," said Stasicha. "He had three or four cracks at it."

"It hits the crossbar, hits (Miele), hits the crossbar, hits the sweeper, then another player," said Gerlach. "Who knew when it was going in?

"Congratulations to them. This was their first playoff win and we were in the same boat a couple of years ago."

Connolly shined just inside 30 minutes remaining when he made a stop on a direct kick, tipped another shot over the crossbar, deflected another shot and another top, all in less of four minutes to stem one rally.

Connolly also made a couple of key saves off shots by Greg Tabisz, one off a direct kick, which he caught; the other on a hard shot that Connolly deflected high in the air off his hands and caught before a charging Mars player could get there.

Connolly continued his stellar play, but Mars' final opportunity came with 1:20 left when a shot hit the post and rolled away.

Still, Gerlach said he is pleased with his team's performance and the season it had.

"All I asked of the kids was, with 10 minutes left, to still be in it," said Gerlach. "The kids played their guts out. I'm proud of them and the coaching staff.

"When they've got heart, I can teach them the rest, and that's what these boys have. I'm proud of them."

Notes:

The shutout was Connolly's ninth this season. … Mars was shut out for only the second time this season. … Siegel made four saves … The Planets have reached the WPIAL in all four of Gerlach's seasons. … Mars had 43 players on the roster and had just seven seniors (Tabisz, Siegel, Jon Natale, Andrew Dillner, Adam Dillner, Shawn Mellor and Matt Perri).