PIAA boys lacrosse: Mars stays hot, Nate Caldwell scores 5 goals to beat Cocalico in first round
ADAMS TWP — Mars hasn’t beaten up on itself as much this season.
Which means the Planets are able to beat down their opponents more, like they did during Tuesday’s 15-5 first-round PIAA Class 2A boys lacrosse victory over District 3 fourth-place finisher Cocalico.
“For us, health is wealth, and for the first time in years, we’ve been healthy,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said afterward at the Mars Athletic Complex. “Normally, we’re coming into playoffs and we’re all beat up. We took a little bit of a different approach this year to practices and to conditioning to try to make sure that we’re healthy at the end of the year.
“And so far, it’s paid off.”
The Planets (16-4) will tangle with District 1 runner-up Upper Dublin, a 14-4 winner over District 11 champ Moravian Academy, in Saturday’s quarterfinals. The time and location are yet to be determined.
Mars’ Nate Caldwell netted the game’s first two goals 2:37 apart in the opening quarter. After Sawyer Belknap put the Eagles (14-7) on the board 30 seconds later, but Jack Tirch responded with one score and Grant Weaver two others. Caldwell posted a hat trick with 6:53 to go before halftime, making it 6-1.
“We’re not as beat (up) or injured,” said Caldwell, who finished with a game-high five goals added the team stresses stretching frequently. “When it comes to playoffs, we’re 100% as a team and ready to go.”
Connor Long’s marker 5:12 after that gave Mars a 7-2 edge at the midway point. Nearly halfway through the third quarter, Long extended the advantage. Weaver stretched it out further — to 9-2 — with 3:31 left in that frame.
Caldwell’s fourth of the evening, with 1:57 to play in the third — matched Cocalico’s third tally. Reed Fuller, Henry Saver and Chase Lamm all piled on in the final 12 minutes. Long tacked up a hat trick with 5:13 to go.
The Eagles made the score look more respectable with two goals at the end. Caldwell fired the final goal of the day in with six ticks remaining.
During practices, the Planets have focused on stick work and cut down on endurance training in an effort “not to beat up their legs,” Marcoux said.
Mars hasn’t lost since mid-April. According to MaxPreps, the Planets have now won 10 in a row.
“This team has been, of all the teams I’ve coached, one of the ones that has continued to improve,” Marcoux said. “These guys have been really accepting of coaching. They’ve been, really, like sponges. They wanna win, they wanna get better.”
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Mars' Henry Saver (16) celebrates after scoring in a PIAA Class 2A first-round boys lacrosse game against Cocalico Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Mars Athletic Complex. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Mars' Isiah Dennis (6) pushes upfield as Cocalico's Sawyer Lupa (31) follows him in a PIAA Class 2A first-round boys lacrosse game Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Mars Athletic Complex. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Mars' Reed Fuller (3) moves the ball up the field as a Cocalico player defends him in a PIAA Class 2A first-round boys lacrosse game Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Mars Athletic Complex. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
