McDONALD — The playoffs unofficially began for the Mars boys soccer team over two weeks ago.

After a three-game skid, the Planets won four consecutive do-or-die games in section play to earn a postseason berth.

“Really, our last two weeks of the season have been playoff games because we didn’t have any room for error,” said Mars coach Chris Knauff. “We were one point away from not making it.”

South Fayette managed to stop the surge.

Mars’ season came to an end Monday night after a 1-0 loss to the Lions in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs at South Fayette Stadium.

“We got better throughout the season,” said Knauff, “but unfortunately we came up against a really good team in the first round and it’s just the way the chips fell.”

The lone goal was scored off a penalty kick from Brian Coyne with 7:25 remaining in the first half.

Jeremy Zyra drew the penalty while trying to maneuver to the net on the left wing. Zyra and a Mars defender collided and both fell to the ground.

“I couldn’t really see it,” said Knauff. “From the referee’s comments, it seemed like it was questionable, but I didn’t really get a good look at it.”

South Fayette coach Rob Eldridge opted for Coyne to take the penalty kick and the junior deposited his shot into the left side of the net.

“He doesn’t really get himself too bothered in pressure situations like that,” said Eldridge of Coyne. “I think it helps being a kicker for the football team, too. He’s used to being under the spotlight with a lot of people in the crowd.”

The Lions (15-2-2) outshot the Planets (12-6) by a 15-8 margin and had an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.

Mars sophomore goalie Dale Glavin recorded seven saves, including a pair of diving efforts in the second half to keep the deficit at one goal.

“Dale probably played his best game of the year,” said Knauff. “He was very sharp and kept us in it.”

South Fayette generated a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks, while Alex Gedrys made four saves to preserve the shutout.

“We gutted it out and did what we needed to do from a defensive standpoint to get the result,” said Eldridge. “We had a fortunate situation to draw the penalty kick in the first half and we were able to capitalize on that.”

The narrow defeat marked the final game in a Mars uniform for seniors Tyler Kuntz, Greg Campbell, Kurt Krigar, Chris Winner, Jesse Perfett and Conner Robick. The group helped the Planets to a WPIAL title game appearance last season.

“The senior class, I couldn’t ask for anything more. They’re a group of extremely hard-working players,” said Knauff. “They’re very coachable and they’ve just been a joy to work with.”

South Fayette will play Laurel Highlands — a 2-1 winner over West Mifflin — in the quarterfinals.

Eldridge was relieved his Lions found a way to survive.

“Mars is a good team. We thought it was a very tough draw for us in the first round,” Eldridge explained. “They were a pretty hot team coming into the tournament and they’re certainly going to be a good team in the years to come.”