The Mars defense has played out of this world and that was evident during its dominance in the WPIAL boys' soccer playoffs, when it did not surrender a goal in 320 minutes.

Mars edged Hampton, 1-0, in the Class AA final at Elizabeth Forward's Warrior Stadium Saturday to boost its record to 21-1 and stretch its winning streak to 18 in a row.

The Planets continued their memorable run with a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Harbor Creek on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA tournament. Mars will take on Palmyra (21-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Chambersburg.

Mars had registered six consecutive shutouts and has given up just six goals during its WPIAL winning streak, which began with an 8-1 rout of Erie Cathedral Prep Sept. 12.

Mars, ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL for much of the season, was the top seed going into the WPIAL tournament. The defending WPIAL champion Planets did not play like a team burdened by high expectations. In fact, they seemed to relish the favorite's role after outscoring four playoff opponents by a cumulative 12-0 count.

"It's just a great group of kids, and they're working hard every day," Mars coach Chris Knauff said. "They play soccer all year; they're just a very skillful, solid group. We knew we were going to get everybody's best [effort]. We had a good draw. Being a No. 1-ranked team, we [started the playoffs] against a lower-ranked team. We just took it one game at a time. "

Mars defeated Hampton (16-4) for the third time this season. Mars won the previous encounters against Hampton, 5-3 and 2-1 in overtime. The Planets won the Section 2 championship with a 12-0 record while Hampton, which will play West Allegheny at 3 p.m. Saturday at North Allegheny in the PIAA tournament, finished second at 10-2, the losses to Mars the only blemishes on its section record.

In addition to being very good throughout the playoffs, Mars also had some luck. Hampton reserve forward Bryan Margaria looked like he might score on a breakaway 17 minutes into the title game, but his attempt missed to the right. The Talbots never seriously threatened to score for the remainder of the game.

"We got a little overanxious leading up to [Margaria's missed shot]," Knauff said. "We had too many [players] pushed forward, so they had an odd-man rush and I thought they were going to score. We were kind of fortunate. After that chance, I think our defense played much better."

Mars did just enough offensively to secure the title when it scored late in the first half. A shot was deflected in by Alex Perri with 1:49 left before halftime set up by a corner kick taken by Tim Vandall.

"Hampton played us tough both times during the [regular] season," Knauff said. "We knew it was going to be a battle. We were fortunate to get the goal early and to be able to hold them off. They played us hard right until the end."

Mars returned eight senior starters from last year's WPIAL title team. This includes four-year starter and captain Ryan McKenzie, a forward who scored 30 goals in the regular season.

"Our senior class has been [playing] together for probably 10 years [since starting with youth soccer], so it's nice to see us all come together and win another championship," McKenzie said. "It's pretty special.

"We have nine kids who start this year and have been together since we were 10 or 11 and we've won a lot of [tournaments] and we just brought it to the high school level."

McKenzie plays for the North Stars cup travel team in the spring. He said several of his Mars teammates also play on that team as well as a few Hampton players, which made the section rivalry all the more interesting, especially in the WPIAL final.

McKenzie said Hampton's coach, Chuck Kelley, was his North Stars coach in the spring and summer. McKenzie's 17-and-under North Stars team won the U.S. Soccer National Cup (Premier Division) tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., in July.

"It's tough to beat the same team three times in one season," McKenzie said. "We knew Hampton had a good team. They took us to overtime early in the season. Give them credit, they have a great team ... We communicate in the fall to see how each other is doing, so it's fun playing against them."

A statement like that is especially true when your team wins 21 of 22 games, including the biggest match on the WPIAL schedule.

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