Mars braces for title match
ADAMS TWP — Apparently, Cinderella is not welcome at this year's PIAA Class AA girls soccer title game.
Instead, the championship will be decided by two titans of Pennsylvania high school soccer.
Mars (24-0-1) will face Villa Joseph Marie (22-0) at 5 p.m. Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.
Both teams dominated its respective opponents in Tuesday's semifinal round: Mars shut out South Park 3-0, while Villa Joseph Marie defeated Central Valley — the fourth-place team out of the WPIAL — by a score of 5-1.
Mars will be making its first appearance in the state finals, while the Jems have previously been to this stage 11 times, going 8-2-1. Their last trip ended in a scoreless tie with South Park in 2007. Their most recent undisputed title came in 2005.
“They have traditionally been a strong program,” Mars coach Blair Gerlach said of the Jems. “Anybody that can beat a strong Central Valley team 5-1, you know it must be a quality team.
“This game is going to come down to which defense is more successful slowing down a potent offense,” he added.
Both squads have already taken home some hardware this season.
Mars won the Section 2-AA and WPIAL title, while Villa was crowned champion of the Catholic-Academies League outside of Philadelphia before winning the District 1 championship.
“The teams in your league can play you tougher than anybody, they know you so well,” said Jems coach Rich Finneyfrock. “Our (section) is made up of seven teams and just one team from our district makes the state playoffs. Parity has made it difficult. It's very unforgiving.”
Between the district and state playoffs, Mars has outscored its seven opponents 21-2, while Villa has defeated its five opponents by a combined score of 23-3.
The Jems are led by senior forward Erica Petrone's 20 goals.
“But we are very balanced,” Finneyfrock said. “We get goals from all over the place, even our backs.”
Senior Courtney Shaw will start in net for the Jems and will be supported by a staunch defense.
Mars features many players who have played key roles in the program's astounding 48-1-1 record since the beginning of the 2010 season.
For Gerlach, it starts with his team's four captains — Mani Brueckner, Crysta Ganter, Bethany Perri and Jordyn White.
“With those girls, two things really stand out,” Gerlach said. “Number one, they bring consistency with training and game preparation. Second, they have so much experience.”
The Planets' explosiveness is reflected in their stats as nine players have scored at least 10 goals. The group is led by Brueckner's 36 tallies. Karli Paracca (21), Kristen McKenzie and Kristen Check (both with 17) and Amber Fichter (15) round out the top five.
Mars' defense, which Gerlach refers to as his “unsung heroes” consists of Fichter, White, Erica Schwab and Shaelyn O'Connor.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Dailey came up with seven saves in the Planets' semifinal win Tuesday.
“She's in her first year as a starter and she has never lost a game for us,” said Gerlach. “That means something to me.”
“Mars is obviously a great team,” Finneyfrock said. “We have our work cut out for us.”
