WPIAL soccer playoffs: Mars boys dispatch Penn-Trafford to make Class 3A quarterfinals
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Mars' Sean Scanlon (2) celebrates with Logan Coone (12) after Scanlon scored his second goal against Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Miles Frazier (10) fights for the ball with Penn-Trafford's Chad Pusarti (12) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Frank Knezovich (9) fights for the ball with Penn-Trafford's JJ Porter (8) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Miles Frazier (10) fights with Penn-Trafford's JJ Porter (8) for the ball in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Sean Scanlon (2) celebrates with Zack Angoff (14) against Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Sean Scanlon, left, controls the ball with his chest against Penn-Trafford Chad Pusateri in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Zack Angoff celebrates a goal against Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Zack Angoff (14) celebrates a goal against Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Sean Scanlon (2)collides with Penn-Trafford's Andrew Baker (24) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars goalie Eli Stasiowski (1) makes a save against Penn-Trafford in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Logan Cooke (12) fights for a head ball against Penn-Trafford's Noah Haslam (30) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Sean Scanlon (2) collides with Penn-Trafford's Andrew Baker (24) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round boys soccer game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
ADAMS TWP — An early Penn-Trafford goal broke the ice, but at the conclusion of Saturday’s WPIAL Class 3A first-round boys soccer playoff game against Mars, it was the Warriors who felt the cruel chill that comes with the end of a season.
The Planets responded to their early deficit by netting three goals before halftime of a 4-1 victory at Mars Athletic Complex.
“Maybe it was the moment, the pressure of a playoff game, but we started slow today,” Mars coach Chris Knauff said. “We calmed down and things went well after that.”
Sixth-seeded Mars will face No. 14 Chartiers Valley, which upset No. 3 Indiana, in a quarterfinal Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
In the 14th minute, the Warriors were threatening to score just yards in front of Mars goalie Eli Stasiowski, but a number of Planet defenders denied a clear shot. Penn-Trafford played the ball back out, where Yuriy Bidochko was waiting. His boot from 18 yards found the back of the net to Stasiowski’s right.
It was Bidochko’s 13th goal of the season.
The sequence confirmed for Warriors coach Ryan Hankey that his team, the No. 11 seed, could get the better of the Planets (14-1-4).
“We watched film on Mars and I believed we matched up well with them,” he said. “We came in here with a lot of confidence.”
It was 18 minutes later when that optimism took its initial hit. Miles Frazier sent a cross from the left of Penn-Trafford’s net. A Warriors defender was in position to thwart the opportunity, but the ball got passed him and Zach Angoff’s shot was too much for goalie Jose Chaves.
The score began a flurry of three goals in just seven minutes.
In the 35th minute, Sean Scanlon’s hustle kept the ball from going out of bounds just to the right of the net. He played the ball back 10 yards to A.J. Montes, who swiftly put the Planets up for good at 2-1.
“We were lackadaisical at the start, but after giving up that early goal, we went at them,” said Scanlon, who netted his team’s final two tallies, including one in the 48th minute to close the scoring. “We have all-state-caliber players all over the field and used all of them today.”
The scoring outburst was a good sign to Knauff.
“Our strength this season has been our defense,” he said. “But we can’t rely on shutting teams out all the time.”
Stasiowski made five saves, including a pair of diving stops early in the second half that kept the Warriors (10-6-1) from getting back in the game.
Chaves stopped two shots for the Warriors.
This was Hankey’s first year of leading the Warriors, who did not make the playoffs in 2023.
“We had 1-0 leads in games this season against Franklin Regional and Latrobe and wound up losing,” he said. “This was a good season, but we need to learn how to finish games.”
The Planets’ only loss this year came with a 1-0 decision against Armstrong on Sept. 12. Since then, Mars has gone 9-0-3 in 12 games.
