South Fayette had a lot of regret after it lost to Mars in the WPIAL Class 2A boys lacrosse championship game.
“It wasn’t the best version of ourselves last time around,” South Fayette coach Shawn Leydig said. “The lacrosse gods are smiling down on us to give us a second crack to run the net this time.”
It’s a historic second chance to say the least.
With the Lions’ 10-9 upset of District 3 champion Trinity on Saturday, South Fayette (21-2) will get its rematch with Mars (19-3) in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny. Their game will mark the first time since the state governing body first recognized lacrosse in 2009 that two WPIAL teams will meet in the semifinals.
Mars became the first WPIAL team ever to play for a state championship in 2021, is the only team ever to win a state championship (2022) and made a third trip to the finals last season. The Planets did their part to set up the showdown with an 18-6 running-clock victory against District 12 champion Devon Prep.
“It’s outstanding. We’d been following Section 3 all year and thought that both South Fayette and Hampton would have a chance,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said. “From what I heard South Fayette played an outstanding game against Trinity.”
Against Devon Prep, Mars was just Mars. The Planets poured it on from the beginning as they scored six goals in the first quarter and 15 in the first half to take Devon Prep completely out of the match.
It’s the same formula Mars used when it posted a 16-5 mercy rule win against South Fayette in the WPIAL finals. The Planets opened up a 9-0 lead at the intermission and extended it to 12-0 early in the third quarter to start the running clock before the Lions even smelled the opposing net.
But this will be a rare experience for Mars. It’s not often the team has had a postseason rematch with a team it met prior to the state playoffs.
“I was just talking to our players about it. We know what they do, they know what we do,” Marcoux said. “It’s just a matter of executing.”
For both teams it all begins with possession and faceoff wins. There are few in the state better than Mars senior and UMBC recruit Jack McKenzie, who completely turned the first game in the Planets’ favor when he won 9 of 10 draws in the first half with his only loss coming on a faceoff violation foul.
“He’s won over 900 faceoffs in his career and you just have to be a little bit quicker than him,” Leydig said. “If we do lose the faceoff, we have to stop them from going forward.”
Easier said than done.
Mars has a wide array of scorers led by Penn State recruit Enzo Grieco, but he’s not the only player skilled at hitting the back of the net. The Planets showcased their depth against Devon Prep with seven players scoring at least twice, led by four from Ryan Blake.
Grieco had four goals and two assists in the WPIAL championship game, while Blake and Ian Coulter each netted hat tricks.
“Their reputation precedes them,” Leydig said. We just have to be ready and execute.”
Keith Barnes: @kbarnes.pg@gmail.com and @kbarnes_pghsprt on X
First Published: June 10, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: June 11, 2024, 2:33 a.m.
