Planets lacrosse beats Cocalico in state playoffs
ADAMS TWP — Numbers don’t matter.
Not if you ask Mars boys lacrosse coach Bob Marcoux, anyway.
However, on Tuesday, one did. An 18-2 home conquest over Cocalico in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament gave the Planets’ mentor his 100th career win.
“It took a lot of folks to do it,” Marcoux said. “It’s really a great win for the program. To do it in five years is pretty amazing ... (It’s) really a big credit to our coaching staff. They’ve done a great job of bringing these guys along and its been a pleasure to work with them.”
A playoff run isn’t supposed to be as easy as Mars (20-1) has made it look. The WPIAL-champion Planets have now outscored their four postseason challengers by a combined 75 goals. None of those teams were closer than 16 scores when the final whistles trilled.
“We really don’t spend a lot of time worrying about the goal differential,” Marcoux said. “We really worry about what we’re trying to get accomplished offensively and defensively.
“We’re trying to get done what we need to get done.”
Junior midfielder Kyle McEwen opened the game’s scoring a little over four minutes in on a pass from senior Austin Cote. After follow-up markers by senior Joshua Seipp and junior Jack Dunham, the visitors got on the board with 4:28 to go in the opening quarter.
By the time the Eagles (10-8) netted another, they still stared down a 16-goal deficit with 4:30 left in the contest. With yet another stingy showing, it’s entirely possible that the Planets’ defensive unit shares a locker room with the best attack it’s come across this year.
“They also have to go up against our offense all day in practice, so that’s really what’s helped us a lot,” Marcoux said. “We’ve got two good units to go after each other in practice and make each other better.”
Seipp recorded a hat trick in the win. As did McEwen and sophomore Enzo Grieco. Dunham had two goals and another two assists.
“One of the things about Mars is, they are synonymous with success not just in the western part of the state,” Cocalico head coach Matt Oberly said. “They’re synonymous with success out east. We want to measure ourselves against that. You don’t get great by playing mediocre teams.”
Along with their offensive firepower and defensive prowess, he added, the Planets scoop balls off of the turf with a nearly unmatched fervor.
“They (Mars) attack ground balls like hungry wolves,” Oberly said. “I think, for our guys, we didn’t see a lot of that this year.”
The Planets advance to a clash with Susquehannock on Saturday, the time and place still to be decided. The Warriors, 20-4 winners over South Fayette Tuesday, boast a 21-1 record.
“These guys play with a lot of confidence — and we have a lot of confidence in them,” Marcoux said of his crew. “We know that, if we get off to a pretty good start, that we can get things rolling. And we have been the last couple weeks. We’ve really been rolling.”
