Planets aligned in win
ADAMS TWP — The Indiana boys soccer team's first-half momentum gave way to Mars' second-half surge.
The 16th-seeded Indians held the Planets' potent attack in check for the first 40 minutes, but Mars dominated second-half play to post a 4-0 WPIAL first-round playoff win Monday night at the Mars Athletic Complex.
Ryan McKenzie's goal in the 43rd minute gave the Planets (18-1) the lead and was followed by Yulian Lutsiv's score a little more than seven minutes later.
"Coach (Chris Knauff) told us at halftime to just play hard and have fun, it's the playoffs," said Lutsiv. "Once we got that first goal, things really opened up for us."
Tim Vandall and Alex Perri each added late scores for Mars, which will face the winner of tonight's game between Southmoreland (13-3-1) and Keystone Oaks (13-2-2) at a time, date and site to be determined.
Indiana's best scoring opportunity came in the 68th minute when Josh Doran's uncontested shot hit the crossbar and the Planets maintained a 2-0 cushion.
The Planets scrimmaged Indiana (12-7) in August and dominated to the tune of a 7-0 win.
"It wasn't even close," said Indians coach Todd Myers. "Nobody expects anything out of a 16th seed. We had no pressure on us tonight. It was all on Mars. They're picked to go to the WPIAL finals."
"I really don't think the final score tonight indicates how well we played," Myers added. "McKenzie's a great player and he was the difference maker tonight."
Indiana senior goalkeeper Scott Blystone came up with eight saves by halftime to keep the game scoreless, including three impressive stops late in the half in the face of an oncoming rush from the Planets.
Blystone ended the night with 12 saves.
"He's a senior, but a first-year starter," said Myers. "He played incredibly in that first half and we put a lot of pressure on (Mars') offense. We didn't give them much time to figure out where they were going with the ball."
Knauff knew there was a lot of soccer left and believed his team would find its groove.
"Indiana was very organized in the first half and they had to be happy with the scoreless tie," he said..
"I think we were a little too excited in that first half," added Knauff. "We started to settle down and possess the ball better in the second half."
Mars junior goalkeeper Robbie Sigurdsson recorded seven saves.
