Mars comes up shy in state title bid
HERSHEY — The state championship match is a bad time to have the bounces go against you.
Ask the Mars boys soccer team.
The Planets surrendered two goals, both of which could have been avoided if luck had been on the team's side, in a 2-0 loss to Palmyra in the PIAA Class AA state title game Saturday afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium.
The Cougars (24-4) scored their first goal with just 27 seconds left in the first half and added an insurance goal with 10:58 left to play.
Palmyra did manage more scoring opportunities, evidenced by Mars goalkeeper Joe Haefner's 14 saves compared to just seven for the Cougars' Ryan Zellner.
"Both teams had their chances over the course of the game," said Planets' coach Chris Knauff. "But they outplayed us.
"They were a faster team than any we've seen this season," he added. "But their speed didn't kill us. It was just their ability to keep possession, that was the difference."
Palmyra sophomore midfielder Brett Jankouskas, who scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Manheim Central in the state semifinals, tallied both scores on Saturday.
With the game scoreless and nearing halftime, the Cougars made one final push into Mars' end and it paid off.
Kyle Schneider found Jankouskas to the right of the Planets' goal.
The sophomore's shot came 15 yards in front of the net from right to left.
Haefner dove to his right to make the save.
The ball sailed past him, ricocheted off the left post and came just in front of the goal line.
Haefner quickly got back on his feet and was trying to make a play on the ball as it bounced twice and just over the goal line on the right side of the net.Cougars' coach Jerry Hoffsmith has grown accustomed to Jankouskas scoring goals at key times for his team."That kid has a ton of finesse," he said. "And he's calm under pressure, cool as a cucumber. That second goal today was his 25th of the season."Palmyra's second goal came at the other end of the field when Jankouskas got behind the Planets' defense as Haefner charged toward his opponent.But just as Haefner made a diving attempt to take away the midfielder's shot, Jankouskas dribbled to his left and was given an easy score, with the goalkeeper helpless on the ground."One goal came when the ball careened off the post and the other was on a breakaway," said Knauff. "Joe should not be held accountable for either goal.""Their goalkeeper is excellent," said Hoffsmith. "I would think that he is the reason they got here, though their backs are pretty good, too."The Planets had several good scoring chances, most of them coming in the first half.Ryan McKenzie, Drew Glavin, Tim Frigot and Michael Page all had their eyes on a state title match goal at one time or another in the first 40 minutes, but headed back up field in disappointment.Mars' offense took a hit when McKenzie, the team's leading goal scorer with 17 goals, left the game with a leg injury late in the first half. He did return.The game proved to be very physical right from the start, with both teams committing their share of infractions."Quite honestly, I thought it was too physical," said Hoffsmith. "We play a different type of game out here. But Mars' backs kept us from scoring more than we did and they have a good team.""We played a physical game," said Knauff. "A lot of calls went against us, but there were calls against (Palmyra) too."We needed to have more numbers with our attack," added Knauff. "When you're attacking with two against four, it's not hard for them to stop you."Mars (21-4-1) took a major step forward this season.The Planets made the PIAA playoffs for just the second time in program history and reeled off three straight state playoff wins."We've got a lot of young players and the program is definitely on the way up," said Knauff.Playing their last game for the Planets were seniors Justin Vancheri, Sean Matthews, Nathan Ganter and Drew Glavin.
