PIAA lacrosse playoffs 2026 preview: Mars boys vs Lampeter-Strasburg keys to the game
Mars boys lacrosse is trying to make a fifth PIAA tournament championship appearance in the past six years and stands won win away over another district champion.
The Planets (15-7) take on District 3’s Lampeter-Strasburg in Tuesday’s Class 2A semifinals. Here are the keys to the Planets advancing to Penn State for the title game.
Livestream: Some games will be livestreamed on the NFHS Network ($13.99 for a monthly subscription) or broadcast by local or regional media outlets. The state championship will be broadcast and livestreamed on PCN. A digital subscription to PCN costs $14.99 for one month.
Tickets: According to the PIAA, tickets can be purchased for $9 in advance on hometownticketing.com and for $10 at the door
Site/time: Mifflin County High School, 2 p.m. Tuesday
Up next: Winner of 3-3 Twin Valley vs. 1-1 Penncrest
Planets’ key player: On a team with All-American Grant Weaver, senior Jack Tirch and state quarterfinal spark-plug Reed Fuller, don’t overlook Nate Caldwell. But the freshman midfielder had pivotal plays in Saturday’s comeback win — the headliner being the tying goal in the third-period during Mars’ epic seven-goal rally to beat Upper Dublin. He also had the equalizer 1:46 into the game and had the assist on Connor Long’s goal that cut UD’s lead to 5-4, minutes before his own heroics. Caldwell entered states with 32 goals and 15 assists, third on the team with 47 points.
Pioneers’ key players: Senior Grant Filius had four goals and an assist in the PIAA opener, then scored the overtime game-winner against South Fayette on Saturday to set up this matchup. The midfielder is heading to the University of Lynchburg in the fall and has been one of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s most dangerous players this season.
Mars wins if ... it can consistently turn possessions into points. That was the difference in Saturday’s quarterfinal and will likely be again. L-S (22-2) has a face-off specialist in Finley Bare who can win at a high clip, just like Mars’ Josh Wilburn. While Wilburn dominated face-offs Saturday, the Planets’ couldn’t convert those first-half opportunities into goals consistently — coach Bob Marcoux pointed out four shots rang off the bar during the half — but then routinely did during the furious second-half comeback. Do more of the latter, and the Planets are heading back to Penn State.
