ADAMS TWP — With a 3-1 home win over Hampton on Wednesday night, Mars downed a rival. For now, Blair Gerlach’s Planets also climbed ahead of the Talbots in the WPIAL Section 1-3A standings.
For a youthful bunch, though, the triumph was much more about the test and how it responded to it.
“With us being as young as we are, for us to come out with a good win is great,” Gerlach said. “I’m not gonna make more of it than it is. It’s a regular season section game in the first round.”
The Planets’ starting lineup also included five sophomores — Addison Jacoby, Brielle Krepin, Carly McKenna, Mackenzie Powell and Reese Vuckovich. McKenna’s crosser from the right side helped set Wolski up to blast it off the Hampton (7-2, 3-2) goalkeeper.
“I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Wolski said. “(We) made a really good cross on net, and I was just able to get the rebound. I think that goal gave us more momentum. After that, we just kept going.”
About half of the Talbots’ starting lineup plays for Gerlach on the club scene.
Powell doubled the Planets’ lead in the 22nd minute, also off a crosser, and after Hampton’s goalie and a defender collided, leaving Powell to easily prod it in. Junior midfielder Jade Breese made it 3-0 in the 66th minute, firing in a laser from the left side. Gerlach was encouraged by the effort.
“I think if we can keep taking those lessons, and we can find a way to get ourselves into the playoffs, I think that we’ll have a young, energetic bunch that — who knows — maybe we’re too young to even get nervous,” Gerlach said.
The Planets (6-1-1, 3-1-1) have done well beating opponents in terms of corner kicks, time of possession and shots on goal, but haven’t been as consistent with scoring. For Wolski, putting the ball in the back of the net in the rivalry game could be a confidence builder for her and the team as a whole. Wolskihad scored two goals on the season entering the night, but scoring against a rival was special, she said.
Wolski played youth soccer with the Mars Mini Martians with a lot of her Planets teammates. She’s thankful to be playing varsity so early on in her high school career.
“It’s fun that the players don’t look at each other like, ‘Oh, that’s a freshman that’s starting,'” Gerlach said. “Or, ‘That’s a sophomore that’s starting.’ You’re just one of the starters, and I’m gonna expect the same standard from you as I do a senior captain. … We have a certain expectation, and I feel like a game like tonight lets us know that we’re competitive.”
