McMURRAY — It might have been the toughest first-round playoff game of the year.

That doesn't make the loss any easier, however

After the Mars girls soccer team knocked off Upper St. Clair 1-0 in a WPIAL Class AAA preliminary game Saturday, its reward was facing 15-1-2 Peters Township.

When Olivia Robertson took a pass from Hannah Caso and scored 22 seconds into the second half, Peters Township took a 2-0 lead and made it stand.

"We knew this was ridiculous," Indians coach Pat Vereb said. "A first-round game and we knew how strong Mars was.

"I'm sure we were happy with our seeding and Mars probably wasn't," Vereb added.

Still, it was a tense contest until Robertson's goal gave the Indians some breathing room and their defense took it from there.

"To play a team that is so organized, we felt we were in the game," said Mars coach Blair Gerlach. "We were a little unlucky on their first goal.

"Then, we came out and before we settled down, we were down two. They're a nice team, very dynamic," the coach added.

Peters Township took a 1-0 advantage with 14:29 left before halftime when Dani Hume rifled a shot from 30 yards.

Mars goalie Meghan Kelly got a piece of the ball on a diving leap, but it still found the back of the net.

"We really had a good chance early when it was 0-0 and we had three cracks at it," Gerlach said. "If we get a goal, maybe we would have had a better shot at them."

Indians goalie Megan Junker recorded four saves, but Vereb knew how much more dangerous things could have been.

"Mars is as good as any team we played all year," said Vereb. "People were calling me up and said we might get knocked out.

"We're just trying to repeat last year's journey," said the coach, whose team lost in the WPIAL and PIAA finals in 2008. "When you play a team like Mars, you play to the very end. I would have liked to tell the team it was over at halftime, but you still have to play."

With the loss, the Planets (15-4-1) bid farewell to seven seniors — Erin Rososky, Corinne Gressang, Erica Sullivan, Kristina Paracca, Sarah Williams, Lexie Mastro and Corinne Williams — but Gerlach is upbeat about his team's future.

"Our senior class, I can't say enough about them," said Gerlach. "They're the first to make jokes, but the first when it's time to get serious.

"Overall, I was proud of the girls tonight. I'm looking forward to good things in the future. We'll be in Class AA next year and we'll try, like we do every year, to win an extra game. Don't forget about us."