Mars falls short of state title game

For a while it appeared that Mars was going to be the team that would break the WPIAL curse in the state playoffs and become the first school from the district to play in the PIAA Class 2A lacrosse championship.

In the end the Planets’ fate was the same as every school that came before.

Nicky Palermo scored the game-winning goal 43 seconds into overtime to give District 3 third-place finisher Strath Haven a 1211 victory against Mars in the PIAA Class 2A semifinal at Chambersburg. It is the second consecutive year the Planets were knocked out on the cusp of making it into the final.

“It was a great game and back-and-forth the whole way,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said. “Our kids were up at halftime and they came back, then we came back and their kid just got the goal in overtime.”

No WPIAL team in any classification has played in a boys or girls lacrosse final since the sport was recognized by the PIAA in 2009. This was the closest any team had come.

After grabbing a 7-5 lead at the intermission, Mars had its momentum taken away midway through the third quarter by the first of several long lightning delays. After the mandatory wait time, Strath Haven was able to regroup and take command in possession time, which led to a 108 lead when lightning sent the two teams off the field with 9:12 left in regulation.

When play resumed the Planets were able to come back and tie the score and send it to overtime.

That was as close to a state final as the Planets could get. The Panthers jumped on them quickly after the opening scrum as Palermo’s winner sent Mars home and earned Strath Haven its first trip to the final.

“It was two teams battling and they battled hard and I thought our kids battled hard,” Strath Haven coach Jef Hewlings said. “It was a little bit sloppy at times, but in the end it came down to the overtime goal.”