Mars girls soccer rallies past Shaler, 2-1, to claim ninth WPIAL title

Mars entered Saturday evening’s WPIAL Class 3A title game with eight girls soccer district titles to its name.

Add a ninth.

No. 4 Planets sophomore forward Mackenzie Powell’s 74th-minute goal broke a tie and lifted her side to a 2-1 triumph at F.N.B. Stadium, etching this team’s name into the program’s storied history.

“We have all been looking up to the Mars girls program since I even started playing soccer,” Powell said. “And just to be able to watch how great this program has grown, and then being able to contribute something ourselves, as players, it just feels amazing.”

But this Mars (17-1-1) crew didn’t lean on yesteryear.

“When you come up in a game like this, you have the talk about, like, ‘There’s a program that’s won several of these, and there’s a program that’s never won any of ’em,'” Planets coach Blair Gerlach said. “People have a way of pitching that as a favorite against an underdog, and it’s like, ‘Going into this game, we were the underdog.’ We were the lower seed, they won the section, we didn’t.

“But when I look at it, the girls that were on the field today (hadn’t) been there. And so I challenged them, I said, ‘What do you want people to say about you someday? You have a chance to make your own path, and it’s not just the school that you’re involved with. You guys need to create your own special memories, and not just rely on the fact that it’s been done before.'”

Adding to the trophy case didn’t come without some adversity, either. No. 2 Titans (15-4) junior Etta Warner scored off a corner kick in the 18th minute, setting the stage for the Planets to showcase their fortitude once more this postseason.

“The past even couple of years, people haven’t really been looking at us as someone that’s as big of a powerhouse as we used to be,” junior midfielder Jade Breese said. “Even though we’re a young team, we’re really competitive.

Breese leveled the scoreboard after junior forward Miley Gratton drew a penalty kick in the 35th minute.

“I’m confident in taking them in big games, so I put it hard and left,” Breese said.

The score was the same at the midway point, and Gerlach wondered how much it took out of his players to even it up.

“I think that this team had dedication all the time,” Breese said. “But obviously (in the quarterfinals against) South Fayette, we also went down one goal and we fought back and won 2-1 also, so we knew we could do it. I think it’s just the mindset.”

With under 16 minutes to go, Powell netted what wound up being the game-winner. Now Mars will forge into the state tournament

“It’s a crapshoot, right?” Gerlach said. “Who knows who you’re gonna play? Who knows if that team is healthy, has some injuries? Right now, I think we’re kinda playing with house money.”