Twin wins
MONROEVILLE — Mars soccer and the WPIAL Finals are getting used to each other.
The Planets' boys and girls varsity squads reached the Class AA championship round by posting 2-1 semifinal victories over Belle Vernon Wednesday night at Gateway's Antimarino Stadium.
The boys joined the championship round for the fourth time in five years when junior forward Matt White snapped a 1-1 tie with his 18th goal of the season with 5:26 remaining.
Senior captain Spencer Posey — who scored the game's first goal with 23:23 left in the first half — fed the ball ahead to White for the game-winner.
“It was a perfect lead from Spencer,” White said. “The ball left my foot and went off the goalkeeper's knee ... It bounced back to me and I was able to chip it over him.”
White lofted his shot high in the air. The ball bounced a couple of times and rolled into the left corner of the net as Belle Vernon goalkeeper Alex Robinson was unable to get back into the play.
“Mars is having a great season and they deserve to go to the finals,” Belle Vernon coach John Kerekes said. “This was a fairly evenly played game and it came down to who had the best and last opportunity to score.
“That was Mars and they took advantage of it.”
Posey's goal was his 31st of the campaign. He rifled a shot off the inside of the left post from point-blank range. The ball ricocheted off the right post as well before going in.
David Wurmlinger scored his 20th goal of the year for the Leopards (14-4-0) nearly three minutes after Posey's goal.
“The later it goes, you wonder if you're going to get that go-ahead goal,” Mars coach Chris Knauff said. “Belle Vernon has some playmakers who can score at any time.
“I was more anxious than confident as that second half wore on.”
The Planets (18-2-1) had 11 shots on goal to Belle Vernon's three. Mars had three corner kicks, the Leopards none.
Mars plays Quaker Valley, a 1-0 winner over South Fayette, on Saturday for the WPIAL crown at a site and time to be determined. The Planet boys last won the WPIAL title in 2009.Mars girls (18-1-1) have lost just one game over the past two years and are bidding for their third consecutive WPIAL title.“I like our talent, but weather is the big equalizer in soccer,” Mars girls coach Blair Gerlach said. “With the rain and the wind, we really couldn't play the style of game wewanted.“Belle Vernon tried to counter our attacks and it almost worked for them.”The Planets took a 1-0 lead with 23:01 left in the first half when Lydia Dennis broke in free down the right side and dribbled a shot past goalkeeper Ashly Gagliardi. The tally was her 29th of the year.The Leopards (17-3-1) just missed grabbing the game's first goal less than four minutes into the contest. Lauren Kovalchuk delivered a pass across the goal-mouth that eluded Planet goalkeeper Sarah Dailey.Samantha Mendicino was all alone to deflect the ball into the net, but fanned on the shot.Belle Vernon had no other true scoring chance for the remainder of the half.“Scoring that first one would have been huge for us,” Belle Vernon coach Paul Sasko said. “This game may have played out differently.”'Instead, Karli Paracca gave the Planets a 2-0 edge with 14:09 remaining, warding off two defenders in the box before sliding her 34th goal of the season into the net.“It's tough to contain Karli and Lydia for an entire game,” Gerlach said.Five minutes before Paracca's goal, Dailey protected Mars' lead with a save on a hard shot from Kovalchuk. The ball deflected off Dailey's hands and bounced wide of the net.“The ball was so slippery and wet tonight ... It was hard to control anything,” Dailey said. “I tried to make sure my body was in front of everything. I didn't trust myself.”One sghot did elude Dailey as Hayden Pascoe netted her 29th goal with 12:39 to play, putting home a loose ball off a 49-yard free kick by Kovalchuk.“I didn't handle that free kick and it cost us,” Dailey said. “There was a battle for the ball after that and I lost it.”Mars enjoyed an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.The Planets will face Moon, which defeated Central Valley 2-1, on Saturday in the WPIAL Finals at a site and time to be determined.
