Mars boys, girls soccer teams advance; Freeport rolls
ADAMS TWP — No one around the Mars girls soccer team doubts the toughness of senior midfielder Sarah Heckman.
"She leaves blood, sweat and tears on the field," said Mars coach Blair Gerlach.
On Saturday, she left all three on the field — literally — helping the Planets to a 2-0 win over Hopewell in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA girls soccer tournament.
Heckman split two Hopewell defenders, then beat Vikings' goalkeeper Christina Murdoch with 7:40 remaining in the first half for what ended up as the game-winner.
In the second half, though, Heckman leapt high in the air for a header and butted heads with Hopewell's Carley Work.
Both players crumpled to the turf, but Heckman certainly got the worst of the exchange, clutching a gash on her head that was spitting blood.
"She's a trooper," Gerlach said of his senior star. "If there was one player who was going to get an injury, it would be her, not because she is injury prone, but because she is as tough as nails."
Heckman was carried off the field with a bandage on her head. The cut required stitches and Heckman also suffered a concussion.
But she was more concerned about the outcome of the match, Gerlach said.
"The first thing she asked when we were out there compressing the cut on her head to stop the bleeding was, 'Will I be able to play Tuesday' if we pull this one out."
Freshman Kristen McKenzie made sure the Planets did pull it out with a spectacular individual effort to score a goal with 5:08 remaining in the contest.
McKenzie broke away from two Hopewell defenders and placed a perfect shot on the run into the net to give Mars a two-goal lead and some breathing room.
Before the insurance goal off the foot of Mars' leading scorer, Hopewell (12-7) had several chances to knot the match come agonizingly short.
Mars keeper Meghan Kelly turned away most of those Viking opportunities when she made two potentially game-saving stops in the second half.
Kelly finished with nine saves in the match to preserve the shutout.
"They played a nice game," said Gerlach of Hopewell, a team he knows well from his work at soccer camps. "Every once in a while, you get a good bounce that helps you."
Despite the win, Gerlach sees much room for improvement.
With Mt. Lebanon waiting in the second round, the Planets (13-4-2) will need to improve in a hurry.
Mt. Lebanon (17-1) has 14 shutouts this season and has surrendered just four goals all season.
To make matters worse, Gerlach may be without Heckman and junior Lexie Mastro, who suffered a shoulder injury late in the game againstHopewell.
"We have a lot to work on," Gerlach said. "We can play better soccer than that. We can play a more attractive game."
A WPIAL playoff matchup of local powers got one step closer.The Mars boys soccer team got two second-half goals within a two-minute span to break open a close game and topple Hopewell 4-0 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.Andy Knauff scored the first of his two goals in the first half as Mars (14-2-2) clung to a 1-0 lead.But in the second half, Dylan McNany scored off a rebound, Knauff put one in the net on a penalty kick and less than two minutes later RyanMcKenzie scored again for the Planets.Hopewell (11-7-1) managed just one shot on goal in the first half and two in the contest."I'm happy with the way we played," said Mars coach Chris Knauff. "We came out very strong in the second half. I was really proud of that."If Freeport beats Chartiers Valley tonight, Mars will battle the Yellowjackets in the second round of the playoffs.Mars and Freeport split during the regular season."We'd love to play Freeport again," Knauff said. "We know we need to play the best game we can play here on out."
It was a playoff feast for the Freeport girls soccer team.Kayla Eckman scored seven goals and Courtney Boroski added five more as the Yellowjackets routed St. Joseph 15-0 in a WPIAL Class AA girls soccer playoff play-in game Saturday.The Yellowjackets led 9-0 at halftime and took less than a minute at the start of the second half to notch their 10th goal.Freeport (14-4-1) will play No. 1 seed South Park (14-3-1) at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
