Mars girls lax grounds Falcons, moves on in state playoffs
ADAMS TWP — Mars flipped the switch ... and flipped Tuesday’s PIAA girls lacrosse first-round playoff from a back-and-forth affair to a dominating victory at home.
Trailing Lower Dauphin 4-3 late in the first half, the Planets scored the next 12 goals on the way to dispatching the Falcons, 18-9, at the Mars Athletic Complex.
The Planets fell behind 2-0 as Ashlyn LaGray scored goals less than a minute apart early in the first quarter.
“We started off slow,” said Mars coach Abby Latona. “It had been almost two weeks since our last game (a 10-9 win over Blackhawk for the WPIAL title).”
Charlotte Stamper, McKenna Merritt and Mya Cote each scored to give the Planets a brief 3-2 lead, but it was 10 minutes later when Mars’ onslaught began in earnest.
LaGray and Gabby Snedeker had scored to put the Falcons back up by a goal. With 6:30 left in the half, the Planets managed three shots in a span of just 15 seconds. An attempt by Mya Cote sailed wide before Lower Dauphin goalie Cali Mease stopped shots from Claire Magness and Cote.
The Planets kept the heat on, however, and Cote found the net to tie the game with 5:57 left before halftime. Before intermission, Stamper scored four more times and Merritt and Cote once apiece to give the Planets a 10-4 lead.
“Once Mars found their groove, we kinda hung our heads and slumped a bit,” said Falcons coach Bob Eismann. “It was hard for us to keep up.”
Cote and Stamper both scored five goals in the victory.
“We remembered what we were playing for,” said Cote, who was on last year’s team that bowed from the PIAA tournament with a 23-2 loss to Twin Valley in the first round. “We had faith in each other. It’s our time.”
The Planets quickly showed there would be no letup in the second half as Anna Bowser scored just 13 seconds after play resumed.
Mars led 15-4 when Lower Dauphin reeled off three straight goals — two from LaGray and one from Cadyn Eismann — to cut the Planet lead to eight goals with nine minutes left, but the Falcons got no closer.
LaGray scored six of her team’s eight goals.
“Cadyn was our top scorer this season, but we knew Mars would key on her,” Coach Eismann said. “We were excited to see Ashlyn step up. Mars is a really good team.”
Merritt scored three times in the win. Bowser and Tess McGrath both added two goals and Sarah Teamann one.
Mease made eight saves for the Falcons (16-5) while Ella Roach stopped four shots for Mars.
“We knew they (Falcons) had some good players, but our girls have been putting in the work since our first day on the field and they turned it on today,” Latona said. “We want to represent Mars well. This team is meant for greatness.”
The Planets (21-1) will meet Bishop Shanahan (15-7-1), an 11-10 winner over Southern Lehigh, in a quarterfinal Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
