Dane's Day
ADAMS TWP — Mars moves on. Laurel Highlands left town with a moral victory.
“I'm happy we were able to score on them. Not many people have done that,” Mustangs coach Jerry Rogers said of the Planets following Mars' 5-1 WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer first-round playoff win Saturday afternoon.
The game was played at the Mars Athletic Comoplex. Mars (15-0) dominated. Senior forward Dane Beller was virtually unstoppable.
Beller scored four goals and added an assist. His fourth goal occurred on a penalty kick only two minutes into the second half, giving the Planets a 5-0 lead.
Beller and most of the Mars starters were taken out of the game only a few minutes later.
“There was no need to get anybody hurt,” Mars coach Chris Knauff said. “We had the game in hand and, hopefully, we have a lot of games to play yet.”
Mars entered Saturday's game as the No. 1 seed in WPIAL 3A. Laurel Highlands (7-9) was the No. 16 seed.
Beller got the Planets on the board at the 32:08 mark of the first half, sent in alone on a pass from Nicholas Porter. Beller set up Nabil Lahlou for a goal less than five minutes later.
Beller added his second and third goals of the day at the 21:48 and 8:46 marks of the first half. Tyler Nymberg had an assist on Beller's third goal.
“It was fun out there today,” Beller said. “I feel like I could have had a couple more and our team could have knocked in a few more.
“Sure, I wanted to play more (in the second half), but we understand the situation. It makes a lot of sense to get other guys in the game.”
Mars hit the goalpost with shots twice, sent another shot barely over the crossbar and Beller fanned on a shot while standing alone in front of an empty net.
Beller has 30 goals on the season. His three goals in the first 32 minutes Saturday marched the number of goals Mars had allowed all season before Laurel Highlands' Matt Lucas hooked in a 33-yard free kick with 11:25 left in the game.
Beller is within five of Ryan McKenzie's program-record 35 goals in a season, accomplished 11 years ago.
“I've got a shot at that if we keep going,” Beller admitted. “But that's not what this is about.”
Knauff isn't surprised by Beller's take on chasing the record.
“Dane is a team guy all the way,” the Mars coach said. “All he's worried about is winning.”
Mars has outscored the opposition 79-4 this season.
“We could have converted more opportunities today, but we played a solid game overall. I was pleased with the effort,” Knauff said.
“(Mars) players don't try to beat a defender one-on-one,” Rogers said. “They are always moving the ball, looking right, looking left. They are very good at finding the open player and setting each other up.”
The Planets will play Hampton — a 3-1 winner over Kiski Area — in the quarterfinal round at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mars Athletic Complex. Mars defeated the Talbots 3-0 and 2-1 during the regular season.
“It's hard beating a team three times in a season,” Knauff said. “We'll see. I'm expecting that to be a one-goal game.”
Anthony DiFalco scored three goals and added two assists for the second-seeded Panthers (14-2). The Knights ended their season at 7-9.
