Welcome to Rodney’s Rundown.
“I’m Rodney — author, podcaster, sports addict and lifelong storyteller. I created Rodney’s Rundown to share unfiltered takes and real conversations about the games, teams and athletes that shape our community.”
Rodney Phillips is a writer and author who recently joined The 228 Times as a sports columnist covering local athletics across the Mars area.
Spring sports are right around the corner in Mars, and one program that continues to build momentum is the Mars girls lacrosse team. I stopped by practice this week with The 228 Times to see how the Mars girls lacrosse team is preparing for the 2026 season and to talk with head coach Abby Latona about the culture she and her staff have built.
In her 5th season as the head coach of Mars High School Girls, Abby Latona sets the amazing team culture and standard of positivity, empowerment and hard work. Her leadership, energy and the fun atmosphere she creates epitomizes how much she loves lacrosse. Spend a few minutes at practice and Latona’s passion for the game — and for developing her players — becomes obvious. At practice, her players reflect those values — hard work, grit and teamwork.
The 2026 team motto is “As One”. “We have a strong unified team this year to reach new heights. The culture has been strong for years, passed down from leaders to new players as they come into our program. We have very high standards. We want our players to empower the girl beside them. As a coaching staff we want to build and raise as many female leaders as we possibly can in that process.” – Abby Latona
The rest of the staff consists of assistant coaches that Abby has assembled are strong female leaders that embody the culture. Former Mars player, Mara Fuller, in her third year at Mars, Naomi Grus, who is entering her fourth year on the staff and newcomer Gillian O’Rourke in her first year. The coaching staff runs a high-tempo practice that moves quickly from drill to drill while maintaining an intense but fun atmosphere.
What has stood out to Abby during the off-season is the time that the girls put into their own skill development. “These girls don’t just pick up sticks in March; they have been training since September in the off-season. I think that makes a huge difference. The off-season excitement and the discipline to want more and do more, to be the standard for girls’ lacrosse in Pittsburgh.” – Abby Latona
Abby stressed that she wants her team to grow by using her positional depth especially at midfield taking advantage of the speed of the game by not having any dips with subs focusing on the speed and IQ of the game. Additionally, she is looking to take a step forward defensively by infusing different techniques and different overall defenses. Missing the steady leadership of Ella Roach in goal, defensively she wants her players to communicate more, be more intuitive to help her new varsity level goalie.
Lessons from Last Season
According to Abby the lessons that they learned last year from their first-round state loss to Twin Valley was the amount of competitiveness from the across state teams. “We strive to be as competitive at practice and build those moments, especially the 3A level teams, we want to be competitive and beat them, because if we can do that out here then it will translate to the state level.” – Abby Latona
Players to Watch
For fans, players to watch this year are two of her seniors, the twins, Anna and Tess McGrath, who were team captains last year, fellow senior Lydia Tomkovicz. “Lydia is a really kind role model for the girls.” – Abby Latsona
Juniors to keep an eye on are Hailey Long (committed to Nova Southeastern), Lucy Balazs and Katie Blake. According to the coaching staff the whole junior class is very strong, which speaks to the team’s depth. Underclassmen to watch are defenders Niki Lefcakis and Ella DePaoli.
Abby enjoys finding ways to challenge her group daily, helping them to envision their collective goals to make it to states and to win a championship. She wants her players to stay true to the team’s culture, standard and respect for their opponents. She believes in her players, pushing them and helping to build strong female leaders. “That is why I chose to do what I do. I want my players to know that they can do hard things and that they can push past limits.” – Abby Latona
Fans who come out to watch the Mars girls lacrosse team this season can expect energy, grit and a group determined to make the Mars community proud.
With a deep roster, strong leadership and a culture built on unity, the Planets believe they have the pieces to make a serious run this spring.