Mars' mainstay
ADAMS TWP — Spencer Posey may have been a marked man, but that did not stop him from turning in a superb senior campaign.
The forward/midfielder for the Mars’ boys soccer team scored 32 goals and added 18 assists this fall for the Planets, who won the WPIAL Section 2-AA title, played in the district championship game and finished 18-4-1 overall.
Posey has been named the Butler Eagle’s 2012 Boys Soccer Player of the Year, finishing in front of Seneca Valley’s Ryan Vilella and Karns City’s Evan McGarvey.
As a junior, Posey scored nearly 46 percent of his team’s goals (22 of 48) and managed 39 percent as a senior on a squad that scored 82 times.
“It was definitely a huge challenge for me this year because teams knew what was coming,” Posey said, “but it helped that I had players around me who could also score. They took some of the pressure off of me.”
Mars coach Chris Knauff knows Posey is leaving big shoes to fill.
“He’s a terrific player,” Knauff said. “He played both forward and midfielder for us and was free to find the ball and attack, but he’d come back to the midfield when we needed him. He also made a lot of great passes. He did everything for us.”
In the fall of 2009, Posey was the only freshman to make the Planets’ varsity roster. Since then, his game has steadily improved.
“I became a lot better on the attacking end of it, finishing in the box,” he said. “The last couple of seasons, I was more composed and confident.”
Posey was recently recognized with All-Section and All-WPIAL honors and was named MVP of the district all-star game after scoring his team’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie.
The resident of Treesdale also has been a reliable player for Northern Steel for the better part of a decade, most recently as a center midfielder.
“Playing for them has really helped my game,” said Posey. “The competition is a lot better than high school and you learn a lot about the little tactics and the brains behind the game.
“Northern Steel’s season runs from February through the spring and you have to stay in shape.”
Posey would welcome the chance to play soccer in college, but is putting his education first.
“I’m looking at Virginia Tech, Villanova, Virginia and James Madison. Those schools are probably too big for me to think about playing soccer.”
During his four seasons with the Planets, Posey helped Mars total a record of 69-17-5 and win a pair of section titles (2009 and 2012) and one WPIAL championship (2009).
“I don’t think I could have written a better script for the last four years,” he said. “I like being there for my teammates. It’s been awesome.”
