Mars boys lacrosse advances to state title game with 11-7 win
UNIVERSITY PARK — From a 5-1 deficit to an 11-7 win that advances the Mars boys lacrosse team to its third consecutive state championship game. That’s how the Planets spent their Tuesday afternoon.
When asked how his team was able to rally, Mars coach Bob Marcoux was quick to answer.
“Ian Coulter happened,” he said.
A sophomore attackman, Coulter was integral to the Planets’ effort to save their season, scoring four goals against Lampeter-Strasburg goalie Bryce Thomas in a Class 2A semifinal at Penn State University’s Panzer Stadium.
“I’ve put a lot of work in to get better,” Coulter said. “It feels great to come up with a big effort in such a big game.”
For the second straight year, the Planets (22-2) will face Marple Newtown (19-5) for the state title here at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Planets won last year’s crown with a 9-6 decision over the Tigers, who defeated Bayard Rustin in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Coulter was in the middle of a crucial sequence early in the fourth quarter against Lampeter-Strasburg with the Pioneers clinging to a 7-6 edge.
He was behind the Pioneer net when an errant pass from a teammate was headed out of bounds in the left corner. Possession seemed a sure thing for the Pioneers, but Coulter sprinted toward the ball and lunged for it with his stick and kept it in play before Mars’ Kyle McEwen controlled it. Seconds later, Coulter had the ball again and scored to tie the game with 10:42 left on the clock.
“The ball was about 15 yards away from me and I didn’t think I’d get to it in time, but I started running,” said Coulter.
The tally was the second goal of Mars’ 6-0 run to end the game. Afterward, Ryan Blake scored the go-ahead goal with 7:46 left. Enzo Grieco, Jack Dunham and McEwen each found the net to cap the victory.
“Being on the field when the momentum started to shift, it was electric,” Coulter said. “There was no stopping us at that point.”
Early on, the Pioneers (20-4) were riding high atop a wave that had Mars searching for answers.
KJ Kessler, Gavin Denlinger and Zach Labrecque all scored in a two-minute span of the first period for a 3-0 lead.
“We were able to take advantage of some matchups, but later on, it was the reverse,” said Pioneers coach Mike McConomy. “Mars started to do the same thing to us.”
“We saw film on them,” said Marcoux, “but weren’t ready for their speed. They’re a very fast team.”
Grieco scored to get Mars on the board, but Kessler scored two more goals early in the second period to push Lampeter-Strasburg’s lead to 5-1.
Coulter then took over, scoring his first three goals in a span of just 1:47.
“A lot of teams focus so much on Enzo, Jack Dunham, Dylan Phillips,” Marcoux said. “Ian made them pay for that. Being just a sophomore, what a great game he had.”
Labrecque scored just before halftime to put the Pioneers up 6-4 at halftime. Colin Sullivan’s score made it 7-5 with just over two minutes gone in the second half, but thanks to stout defensive play and Mars goalie Jonathan Grieco, Lampeter-Strasburg was unable to find the net over the last 20:55 of play.
Jonathan Grieco made 12 saves in the game.
“Communication was the difference for us on defense in the second half,” said Marcoux. “They were doing a lot of dodging and we had to rotate.”
Enzo Grieco scored twice and added five assists while Dunham had three goals.
Thomas stopped eight shots for the Pioneers, who fell to Marple Newtown in last year’s semifinal round.
“Our motto this year was: ‘Two more wins,’” said McConomy. “We fell short, but getting back here is a testament to all the work our guys put in.”
