Six Standouts: Mars Captures 4th Straight WPIAL Crown

There are a few teams in Pennsylvania that look as dangerous as the Fightin' Planets do this season. They have knocked off both of Class 3A's top dogs in the WPIAL, defeating Pine-Richland (Pa.) 10-6 and Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) 16-7 in a span of two weeks. And while defeating the WPIAL's top competition in an entirely different classification is a feat in and of itself, what they did on Thursday night may be even more impressive.   For the fourth consecutive season, Mars (Pa.) has captured the WPIAL 2A championship, taking down Quaker Valley (Pa.) 19-5 in a dominant performance. A lot of credit can be given to Quaker Valley, which appeared in its first WPIAL championship game since 2018 under the guidance of first-year head coach Kristin Hric.   A younger program, Quaker Valley, does not look to be going anywhere anytime soon, and they should be competing at the top of WPIAL 2A for years to come. Despite the loss, the Quakers have still clinched a spot in the PIAA 2A state championship tournament, and they are a team that should make some noise. But on Thursday night, Mars flexed their muscle. Dominant from the opening draw, the scoring opportunities for the Quakers were few and far between as the Mars defense was suffocating from start to finish. Three different players — Lucy Balazs, [player_tooltip player_id='72765' first='Katie' last='Blake'], and Lola Seideneck — recorded hat tricks for the Fightin' Planets, and the depth of the Mars ultimately proved too much for the Quakers to handle.    [player_tooltip player_id='72765' first='Katie' last='Blake'], who was just named a First Team selection to the WPIAL All-Section team, was everywhere offensively on Thursday night, leading the charge with a game-high six goals. This has been a breakout year for Blake, who crossed the 150-goal threshold during the WPIAL championship on Thursday. She has had over 70 of those goals come this season alone, and she has been a force throughout the playoffs, tallying seven goals in the quarterfinals, four in the semifinals, and six in the championship.   For Blake, it all starts with her off-ball movement. She moves exceptionally well without the ball and has a knack for finding soft spots in the defense. But she is just as dominant in the one-on-one game. She has a deep dodge repertoire and is dangerous around the crease, where she loves to curl around the eight-meter mark with her back to the cage and shake off her defender. She is not the tallest or biggest player on the field, but she absorbs contact well and can get off high-percentage looks even when being fouled.     [player_tooltip player_id='72766' first='Elizabeth' last='York'] is one of four freshman starters for the Quakers this season, and is quickly developing into a reliable option. She sees and tracks ground balls well, and she has a quick first step that allows her to beat out defenders in those chase-down. scenarios.   Her offensive move set is still evolving, to be expected, but she has shown the ability to shake defenders outside the eight meter and create scoring opproetunies for her and her teammates. She has a good high feed (which led to a Quaker goal Thursday), and an overall situational awareness offensively that is impressive. She works a lot from the X position, which seems to be a natural fit for her style of play.   While coaches have plenty of time before they can formally reach out, York is a name that should be on their watchlist for the class of 2029. She is a fundamentally sound attack who is getting better and more confident in each passing game.     [player_tooltip player_id='72770' first='Ella' last='DePaoli'] is a shutdown defender with elite stick work, and she had a strong defensive outing on Thursday night. A recent second-team selection to the WPIAL All-Section team, she does an excellent job of cutting off opposing attackers on the slide and reads passing lanes as well as anyone at her level. She is a vocal presence on the back end, doing a great job of communicating with her teammates and making sure everyone is in the right position, a mark of any elite unit.   Her defense was on full display in the game's opening quarter. The Quakers looked to move the ball to the right side of the field and reset, but DePaoli had other plans. She timed the pass perfectly, deflecting the ball back toward the midfield stripe before coming up with the ground ball and taking off in transition. It helped quiet a Quaker Valley offense that looked sharp in the game's opening possession.   Come September, college coaches can formally reach out to DePaoli, and she is a player who should draw significant interest. She is a heads-up defender who can turn defense into offense in a hurry.     Despite limited offensive opportunities for the Quakers, it was only a matter of time before [player_tooltip player_id='72775' first='Lucy' last='Roig'] got involved. The all-time leading scorer in Quaker Valley girls lacrosse history, with over 250 goals, Roig is a dangerous offensive presence who can take on even the best defenders 1v1. That was exactly what she did to get herself on the board on Thursday night.   With her team trailing in the second quarter and desperately in need of a goal, number 24 got the job done. She found herself on an island and went to work with a hesitation step that got her defender off balance. When the slide never came, Roig exploited the open space in front of her, attacking right and creating enough separation to fire a shot from around the twelve-meter mark.   Roig is a matchup nightmare. She is a twitchy dodger who cannot be left on an island, or she will find the back of the net. She is equally dangerous inside the eight-meter and from distance, as she proved on Thursday. For a Quaker Valley team with state title aspirations still alive, it will be their program leader they count on to take them there.     [player_tooltip player_id='72774' first='Anna' last='McGrath'] is a true two-way midfielder and a do-it-all player for the Fightin' Planets. She and her sister Tess are among the most decorated players in Mars program history.   Together, they have won the district championship in all four of their seasons, and each has contributed over 250 points to the program. Anna has also added over 200 draw controls to her resume, and she once again dominated the circle on Thursday.   But McGrath's impact extended well beyond the circle. She was a defensive menace, causing a handful of turnovers on the defensive end and never shying away from a scrum for a ground ball. Offensively, there are few that set up the offense better. She can split the double team if the slide comes, and she is an excellent feeder who loves to dish the drop-off pass with two on her.     Behind every deep playoff run is a brick-wall goalie, and the Fightin' Planets have just that in [player_tooltip player_id='72771' first='Julia' last='Lego']. At 5'9", she is agile in the cage and light on her feet, and I believe that she has a high ceiling as a collegiate goalie. Expect her to draw additional interest after the postseason she is having.   What impressed me most on Thursday was her shot-tracking ability on free-position attempts. She sees the ball exceptionally well out of the stick, and makes difficult saves look simple.   Even when the Quakers had the offense moving, Lego was there to shut it down. She is comfortable making saves inside and outside the crease and made a handful of impressive cross-body stick-side saves on Thursday. Her outlet passes are accurate and purposeful, and she does a great job of pushing the offense in transition when the opportunity presents itself.

There are a few teams in Pennsylvania that look as dangerous as the Fightin' Planets do this season. They have knocked off both of Class 3A's top dogs in the WPIAL, defeating Pine-Richland (Pa.) 10-6 and Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) 16-7 in a span of two weeks. And while defeating the WPIAL's top competition in an entirely different classification is a feat in and of itself, what they did on Thursday night may be even more impressive.