Mars' Eli Wright (10) and Tyler Nymberg (9) celebrate Wright's goal with teammates during the Planets' 2-1 PIAA Class 3A boys soccer semifinal win over Cathedral Prep Tuesday night. Mars girls, North Catholic girls and Seneca Valley's boys also punched their tickets to Hershey with semifinal wins.

ADAMS TWP — Doubting Mars' boys soccer team this season has proved fruitless.

The Planets on Tuesday kept their perfect record intact, defeating Cathedral Prep 2-1 in a PIAA Class 3A semifinal at the Mars Athletic Complex.

Senior midfielder Nabil Lahlou assisted on teammate Eli Wright's goal in the 33rd minute, then scored himself in the 58th minute to give the Planets (20-0) a 2-0 edge.

“Scoring, assisting, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” said Lahlou. “People have doubted us all season ... in the media, even some of our own alumni have doubted us. We've had some challenging games, but no team has been able to beat us on that scoreboard.”

Mars will play against Northern York, which defeated Upper Moreland 4-1 in Tuesday's other semifinal, in the state final at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.

Wright's score came amidst a crowd on the right side of Prep's net, with Ethan Baker unable to make the save.

Lahlou's tally was crucial because just 23 seconds after he scored, the Ramblers were awarded a penalty kick, which Jack Foht booted past Mars goalkeeper Jake Gareis.

Cathedral Prep (14-4) had its best chances to tie the game come on a pair of corner kicks. In all, Mars denied the Ramblers on each of their five corner kicks during the game.

“Defending a corner kick is not complicated,” said Mars coach Chris Knauff. “You need to be aggressive, get high and attack the ball.”

The game was played on a snow-covered field. Light snow showers fell during the game.

“Some teams might see that and think that it's not good ... 'How are we going to be able to play well,'” Knauff said. “This team didn't care. They came out and were excited about playing. They could have been playing in a mud pit, it wouldn't have mattered. Tonight came down to who could better withstand the elements.”

“I'm impressed with them, but also proud of them. Every time our backs are against the wall, we find a way.”

Gareis had three saves while Baker stopped five shots.

Mars will be making its second appearance in the state final. The Planets fell to Palmyra, 2-0, in 2007.

Aside from their talent, the Planets are playing with a confidence that is “sky-high”, according to Lahlou.

“We're not changing things up for any team,” he said. “We're going to keep playing our game.”