Dynasty at work
ADAMS TWP — Another season has brought with it another dominating performance in section play for the Mars girls soccer team.
The Planets locked up their fifth straight section title with a 5-0 win over Freeport on Monday.
To say that Mars has had a stranglehold on Section 2 since moving to Class AA in 2010 would be an understatement.
The program is unbeaten (71-0-1) in its last 72 section contests. The Planets' last section defeat came in a 2-1 decision against Class AAA Seneca Valley Oct. 3, 2009. The only game they have not won since then was a 2-2 tie with Knoch in 2011.
“I've had a lot of familiarity with the girls coming up through the club team that I coach, Northern Steel,” said Mars coach Blair Gerlach. “Some of our other players play for other club teams, but the key is that they are playing year-round. That's been the difference.”
Mars won three straight WPIAL titles (2010-12) and a state championship (2011) before a rash of season-ending injuries hit the Planets last season. The team still managed a section title, but fell to Hopewell in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
This year's team is determined to bring district gold back to Mars High School.
“I was on the field for that last game against Hopewell last season,” said senior midfielder Casey Merritt. “With all of the injured players, it was horrible not being able to win that game for them. From the start of this season, we've been talking about how far we could go.”
Eleven seniors graduated last spring, but the imprint they left on the team can still be felt.
“The leadership they showed was awesome,” said junior defender Shannon Doyle. “We want to follow in their footsteps and keep that legacy going.”
The injury bug jumped up to bite the Planets again this season, as Merritt (three) and Dillon Wright (four) missed seven games between them. Not only did the over-lapping injuries occur to a pair of midfielders, but they also struck two of the team's three captains — Sabrina Edwards being the other.
“We changed our formation for a few games,” said Gerlach. “Instead of playing three in the middle, we played two. It's a grueling season and you are bound to have injuries.”
Mars' overall record of 13-3 may not reflect it much, but the team did experience some growing pains earlier this season.
“At the start of the season, we weren't playing all that well together. There were so many new starters on the field,” Doyle said. “But as the season has gone on, we have jelled and are now playing well as a team.”
Edwards, a junior midfielder/forward leads the team with 21 goals and 12 assists, followed by sophomore forward Tori Kopchak (11 goals, 11 assists) and junior Erin Posey (eight goals, five assists).
Goalkeeper Sammy Papik had big shoes to fill with the graduation of Sarah Dailey, a three-year starter now playing at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. The former has responded with eight shutouts.
“She didn't have much varsity experience at all playing behind Sarah, but Sammy began training with Northern Steel a couple of years ago,” said Gerlach. “We are trying not to put her in situations where she has to be the only player keeping us going, but she is very athletic.”
“Sammy has been fantastic,” said Doyle, the only returning starting defender from last year. “Our confidence in her just keeps going up.”
Of Mars' 13 wins, 11 have been decided by three or more goals. With the playoffs looming, the competition is sure to become more difficult.
“When we played Norwin (a Class AAA team Sept. 27), that was a playoff atmosphere,” said Kopchak. “We played hard and won 1-0. As long as we keep our enthusiasm up, we should do well.”
