Jade Breese scored three goals, and the Mars girls soccer team opened its WPIAL playoff run with a 5-0 victory over West Allegheny on Monday night at the Mars Athletic Complex.
Gratton and Katie Blake each had two assists, while freshman HB Wolski added an assist.
The victory continued a productive stretch for the Mars offense, which has scored 30 goals over its past six games. After the match, head coach Blair Gerlach pointed to the team’s willingness to share the ball and its ability to score in different ways.
“I think we’re pretty selfless, sometimes to a fault, but I think we’re getting to a place where we have multiple players that can score, and I think that’s difficult to game plan for,” Gerlach said. “So if it’s one person’s night to step up, great. If it’s somebody else the next night, that’s OK, too.”
Mars’ Jade Breese celebrates with a teammate after scoring her second goal against West Allegheny during Monday’s WPIAL playoff game at the Mars Athletic Complex. Breese scored three goals in the Planets’ 5-0 victory.
Breese, the Planets’ leading goal scorer, delivered the hat trick Monday. Gerlach estimated that the three goals brought her season total to 19.
“I think the fact that we’ve got goal production coming out of five different players is a testament to the girls,” Gerlach said. “They’re really focused in on that ‘we, not me’ idea.”
The Planets took a 1-0 lead in the first half and added four more goals after halftime. The scoreboard showed Mars ahead 2-0 early in the second half and 3-0 with about 22 minutes remaining. The Planets extended the advantage to 4-0 and then 5-0 in the final 10 minutes.
At the other end of the field, Mars kept West Allegheny off the scoreboard. Gerlach credited the familiarity developed by a back line that has played together throughout the season.
“I think it’s nice that our defense has figured out the familiarity side of things—who does what, who steps, who drops, who covers,” he said. “That’s nice to have that familiarity going into the playoffs.”
Despite the Planets’ recent offensive production, the coach said he hopes his young team has yet to reach its peak.
“I don’t know if we know what our potential is, being as young as we are,” he said. “I think we’re sort of still trying to figure certain things out, but at the same time, they’re just out there playing and having fun and enjoying it.”
Asked whether the team had peaked, Gerlach replied, “I hope not.”
He said Mars will need a strong, clean effort as it moves deeper into the playoffs.
