Mars Knocks Off Defending Champ Hampton for Boys D-II Lax Title

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 27, 2016 | 11:52 PM

The Mars Fighting Planets, in just their fourth year or existence, captured the WPIAL Division 2 Boys Lacrosse by defeating defending champion Hampton 15-10 at Highmark Stadium in Station Square.

It didn’t take Mars long to jump on top as Andrew Moyer converted a feed from Joe Horvat just :32 into the match to give Mars a 1-0 lead.

The Talbots answered as sophomore Ross Anderson BG beat Mars goalie Pat Morrow from 12-yards out off a assist from Luke Molingowski to tie the game at 1.

Moyer netted his second of the game from 18-yards as a two-man advantage was ending to put Mars back in the lead before Richy Myros scored his first goal of the game to tie the match at 2-2.

That score was the final time the game would be tied as Anthony Grieco on a step-out move and Blake Thompson scored to give Mars a 4-2 lead.

Isaac Capezzuti ended the 1st quarter by scoring from an extreme angle to pull the Talbots within a goal. Moyer completed his hat trick 1:45 into the second quarter and when Jacob Porter converted a Horvat pass from 18-yards away, followed by a Ben Lewis tally off a Moyer assist, Mars had built a 7-3 lead.

Myros netted his second goal from the near post for Hampton’s only goal of the second quarter. Thompson added his second tally on a great individual effort at 10:06 which was followed by a Horvat step-out goal with :26 left before halftime as the Fighting Planets led 9-4 at the break.

Hampton turned the tables on Mars in the third quarter scoring four of the quarter’s five goals. Cappezzeti scored his 2nd goal off an Anderson feed before Thompson beat a double team for a hat trick for the Planets.

Myros completed his hat trick on a step-out at 5:18 and Capezzuti finished his hat trick at 6:21 to pull the Talbots to within 10-7.

Junior Hugh Kelley fired home a goal of an excellent feed from Capezzuti to make the score 10-8 Mars at the end of three. Freshman Garrett Reinke, who was key on face offs all game long for the Fighting Planets, took a pass from Grieco and beat Hampton goalie Robert Voinchet 1:30 into the final period and Mars lead 11-8.

Capezzuti scored his 4th goal off the game :55 later and when Anderson blistered a shot home from 15-yards, the Talbots trailed by just one goal. But Mars stood strong and finished the game scoring the last 4 goals. Moyer’s 4th of the game was big as it came :18 later. When Zac Sicher netted his first of the game and 12th goal of the playoffs on a man advantage a minute later, Mars had a 13-10 lead.

Porter scored his second of the game off a Thompson assist and Sicher converted a pass from Cade Hetzler to round out the scoring band give Mars a 15-10 victory.

The Fighting Planets, the top seeded team in the Division 2 tournament, finishes the season with a record of (19-1), with their only loss coming to Division 1 Pine-Richland.

The Talbots end the year at (13-7). Hampton, seeded second, was making its sixth appearance in the title game, but failed to capture the school’s fifth championship.

The season is over for both Mars and Hampton as teams from Division 2 in the WPIAL do not compete in the state playoffs.

Score By Quarters:

Hampton Talbots : 3 – 1 – 4 – 2 = 10
Mars Fighting Planets : 4 – 5 – 1 – 5 = 15

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter:
Mars – Andrew Moyer – Joe Horvat (:32)
Hampton: Ross Anderson – Luke Molingowski (4:49)
Mars: Moyer (2nd) (7:59) Man-Up
Hampton: Richy Myros (8:36)
Mars: Anthony Grieco (10:14)
Mars: Blake Thompson (10:30)
Hampton: Isaac Capezzuti (11:42) Man-Up

2nd Quarter:
Mars: Moyer (3rd) (1:45) Man-Up
Mars: Jacob Porter – Horvat (3:41)
Mars: Ben Lewis – Moyer (4:12)
Hampton: Myros (2nd) (9:10)
Mars: Thompson (2nd) (10:06)
Mars: Horvat (11:34)

3rd Quarter:
Hampton: Capezzuti (2nd) – Anderson (3:48) Man-Up
Mars: Thompson (3rd) (4:44)
Hampton: Myros (3rd) (5:18)
Hampton: Capezzuti (3rd) – Dante DiBucci (6:21)
Hampton: Hugh Kelley – Capezzuti (8:28)

4th Quarter:
Mars: Garrett Reinke – Grieco (1:30)
Hampton: Capezzuti (4th) – Myros (2:25) Man-Up
Hampton: Anderson (2nd) (3:52)
Mars: Moyer (4th) (4:10)
Mars: Zac Sicher  – Moyer (5:10) Man-Up
Mars: Porter (2nd) – Thompson (6:02)
Mars: Sicher (2nd)  – Cade Hetzler (7:10)

Man-Up Situations:
Hampton: 3-for 4
Mars: 3-for-6

Goalies:
Hampton: Robert Voinchet
Mars: Pat Morrow

Tags: Hampton