Reed Fuller’s ‘unbelievable’ goal sparks Mars boys lacrosse’s comeback over Upper Dublin in PIAA quarterfinals
MECHANICSBURG, Cumberland County — Reed Fuller couldn’t quite describe it. Neither could head coach Bob Marcoux.
Whatever sparked Mars boys lacrosse’s furious comeback in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals doesn’t ultimately matter. What does matter is the Fightin’ Planets proved up to their nickname and reputation as the 10-time WPIAL champions, beating District 1 runner-up Upper Dublin 10-8 with an incredible second-half performance Saturday at Mechanicsburg’s John H. Frederick Field.
“All three years we’ve always been close, but this year especially — we’ve fought through so much adversity, losing our section for the first time in 10 years,” Fuller said. “Everything’s just gone into this point, there’s nothing we want to see other than holding the medal (at the end).”
Up next is Tuesday’s state semifinals against District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg, 11-10 winners in overtime over WPIAL runner-up South Fayette, at a site and time to be determined. A Mars (15-7) win would mean five title game appearances in six years.
Barely an hour after the girls had been stifled by West Chester Rustin, the boys looked like they were heading to a similar fate.
The Flying Cardinals (13-10) held Mars scoreless for nearly 26 straight minutes of game time after Blake Cote’s first-quarter goal at the 5:55 mark and methodically built up a 5-2 on back-to-back Chase Foster goals in third, the latter with 4:40 left in the frame.
But Fuller answered 15 seconds later, dashing nearly the length of the field off a ground ball recovery to score. It unleashed a 7-0 run that upended Upper Dublin’s hopes.
“As soon as I picked up that … ground ball, I saw (assistant) Coach (Kyle) Savage on the sidelines saying, ‘If you get it, you can go,’” said the junior midfielder of his only goal. “I kind of just took it into my own hands, head down, went straight to the net.”
“That goal by Reed Fuller was unbelievable, that got our guys very, very juiced,” Marcoux said. “That was a gritty goal, basically just took it end to end and decided he wasn’t gonna let it go.”
Connor Long flicked in a goal less than a minute later, Nate Caldwell deposited his second two minutes after that, Chase Lamm gave the Planets their first lead and Grant Weaver set up Jack Tirch for a side-arm rifle from about 15 yards out with four seconds left in the period.
The result with 12 minutes still to play: Mars 7, Upper Dublin 5.
“Once we get hot, as everyone’s seen all year, there’s no stopping us,” Fuller said.
Connor Long and Henry Saver provided much-needed insurance early in the fourth quarter to cap the 7-0 run because Nate Brown and Matthew Shohen in a span of 2:21 scored three Cardinals goals to make it just 9-8 Mars.
However, Weaver, who finished with four assists, deposited his only goal of the evening with a minute and change left to ice it.
“That’s Grant’s game all the time,” Marcoux said. “Honestly, they did a pretty good job of stopping his shots. If you take one thing away, Grant will take something else from you.”
Mars’ offense got help in other ways before it took off.
Goalie David Renner came up huge once again, this time playing a full game despite typically splitting contests with Luke Reinhart. Marcoux said Renner had the hot hand.
“We executed (the game plan) perfectly,” Renner said. “We looked for bad shots with good defense, and that’s exactly what they gave to me.”
And face-off specialist Josh Wilburn proved his immense value once again, routinely winning possession for the Planets, even in a first half when they trailed.
Four Mars shots rang off the bars as it tried to penetrate UD’s zone defense early, but the rest was just patience. The Planets knew they would find the cracks, and some breaks, eventually.
“We knew from the beginning we were a good team,” Renner said. “When we’re one team together, we’re unstoppable, really.”
