Mars Wins Battle of Reigning WPIAL Champs Over NA, 13-8
In a battle between the reigning WPIAL champions in Class 3A and Class 2A, it was the Mars Planets who prevailed over the North Allegheny Tigers on Monday night, 13-8, in a non-section contest.
The five-time reigning Class 2A champs used a quick start and a strong third quarter to remain undefeated at 15-0 on the season. A first period hat trick by junior Wesley Scurci helped the Planets build a 5-1 lead by the 1:48 mark of the second period. Scurci, a Lindenwood University recruit, finished with four goals on the night.
North Allegheny struck for a pair of goals late in the first half, one from senior Gavin Banyas and another from junior Christian Tedder to cut the score to 6-3 at the half. The Tedder goal, his second of the night, came with just nine seconds left before halftime.
North Allegheny netted two of the first three goals in the second half on markers by juniors Marco Pascarella and Marc Bartolomucci to trim the deficit to 7-5 with 5:18 left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was a close as the Tigers would get as the Planets erupted for six consecutive goals to grab a 12-5 lead by the early stages of the fourth quarter.
Undaunted, North Allegheny battled to the end and tallied a goal by Banyas and two more from Bartolomucci in the fourth quarter in a 13-8 defeat. Bartolomucci totaled a hat trick for NA, while Banyas and Tedder finished with two goals each.
Senior Marc Melanson got the start and made 18 saves in the effort and faced a barrage of shots from several Division I recruits throughout the evening.
North Allegheny falls to 10-6 on the season following the tough non-section tune-up. The Tigers will visit Norwin on Wednesday in the regular season finale.
Boys Lacrosse Summary vs. Mars, 5-9-22
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| North Allegheny | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Mars | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 |