ADAMS TWP — Counting sheep probably won’t work for Miley Gratton on Thursday night.
No. 4 Mars (15-1-1) will face No. 1 Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. Game time and location have yet to be announced, according to the school’s release.
Throughout the night, the Planets didn’t get as many corner chances as they typically do, with some unlucky breaks, too. But in the 75th minute, junior midfield Jade Breese lined up and booted it toward the Lions (10-5-5) box.
“I just had a feeling we needed to kind of adjust where (Miley) normally stands, and so yelled it there, she made a slight adjustment and I don’t know if you can execute it better than that,” Mars coach Blair Gerlach said.
“It was a beautiful ball from Jade,” Gratton said. “I think the whole moment, it just turned out the way we wanted it to. Blair obviously was yelling to me … (saying), ‘Get on the goalie, and score this!’ Tipped right off my head and back post. It was a great ball from Jade.”
About nine minutes earlier, Planets sophomore midfielder/forward Reese Vuckovich evened it up at 1-1 with a laser of a shot from 30 yards out.
“Reese’s goal, she doesn’t have many on the season, and she’s been really an unsung hero for us this year where she has been so consistent and has worked so hard,” Gerlach said.
“That was a banger,” Gratton said of Vukovich’s goal. “When we need her, she really steps up.”
Gerlach wasn’t thrilled with his side during the initial 40 minutes. He felt Mars was timid, worried about making a grave mistake. Still, it was scoreless at the midway point. Then, South Fayette sophomore Lily Chiappetta dented the scoreboard for the first time about half a minute into the second half.
“That was when we really knew we needed to turn it on,” Gratton said. “And I think everything else just went out of our heads. It was kind of a one-track mind (like), ‘We’ve gotta score.’ And there was no other option.”
“I think when you play a team that’s that gifted — with players going to the major universities that they’ve committed to and so forth — it can be intimidating,” Gerlach said. “To go down a goal and to show that you can come back is massive. I think it’s a huge confidence builder. And I’m not talking about the rest of the season. I’m just talking about going forward.
“It doesn’t matter how daunting something might seem, even situationally in a game. If you trust your preparation, it can come through for you in a big moment.”
With the semifinals now on the horizon, Gratton said she’d celebrate with some mint chocolate chip ice cream and some rest — if she can get any.
