Panther girls soccer has entered the toughest part of their season.
Having won their first conference match at East Henderson March 23, on the week of March 30 Franklin continued their Mountain Eight schedule, playing two quality opponents in Pisgah and Tuscola. In a nailbiter with Tuscola, they proved their mettle in a difficult conference.
On March 30, they traveled to Pisgah to face the Black Bears. There the Panthers controlled possession early, creating several chances in the first half hour.
In the 25th minute Franklin won a throw-in near the Black Bear goal, where Bristol Brooks found Neveah Kimsey in Pisgah’s 18-yard box. There Kimsey beat Pisgah’s keeper with a one-touch shot, and helped defend Franklin’s lead until the half.
Both teams traded chances after the break, with Panther defenders thwarting several Pisgah attacks. In the 54th minute however, a Black Bear made an incisive run and tied the match with a well-placed shot.
Lana Walker nearly retook the lead moments later, hitting the crossbar with a beautiful shot from 25 yards. Pisgah broke through with 10 minutes to play however, sending another well-placed shot inside the far post. Franklin tallied multiple near-misses in the final minutes, but Pisgah ultimately defended their 2-1 lead.
On April 1, the Panthers returned to Macon Middle School to face Tuscola. There disaster struck the home team early on, when a Mountaineer found a teammate with a “through” pass behind Panther defenders. The Mountie had a clear path to Franklin’s goal and scored less than a minute in.
Franklin regrouped quickly despite the early setback, controlling possession for the next several minutes. Sadie Collins, Alivia Clouse and Carramia Ramos denied Mountie chances to keep the score 1-0 at the half.
Franklin ratcheted up the pressure in the second half, getting near-misses on Tuscola’s goal from Walker and Rylee Greene. With 12 minutes left Channing Ray sent a high pass into the Mountie box, where Kai Pelletier met Tuscola’s keeper at the ball. With neither player taking possession, the ball bounced loose back to Ray, who tapped it into an empty net.
Suddenly tied, both teams doubled their efforts for the last 12 minutes, with Ramos and Collins blocking several Mountie shots. Neither team could break the deadlock however, sending the match to extra time.
Both teams traded chances throughout the first period into the second, until Franklin was given a free kick in the Mountie half with five minutes to play. There Walker made the play of the night for Franklin, finding the far top corner of the net with a beautiful shot from 30 yards.
With their first lead of the night Franklin defended frantically from there, beating back several Mountie attacks in the final minutes. With 90 seconds to play however, they tried to clear a ball from inside their own box, but a Mountie stepped in front and redirected it into the net. The teams stayed tied 2-2 until the final whistle.
“That was one of those games that we should have won, but the girls are looking better,” said head coach Sam Vargas after the match. “The theme of the season is just earning the right to play, and putting yourself in a position to win. We went down with a fluke goal in the first minute of the game, and we put two goals back on them – it’s part of the game, and part of life. We had the ball on the offensive side for much of the game; we’re still working on finishing and trying to get better.”
Having turned in their best start to a season in years, ending the week with an overall record of 4-2-2, Franklin has encountered tough opponents in the last two weeks. While they rank just sixth in the standings with a conference record of 1-2-1, the Panthers have proved they can compete in two close games with Mountain Eight contenders.
“It’s just tough. There’s a lot to do, but they’re learning to compete, and they’re staying in the game,” said Vargas of the tie with Tuscola (3rd) and a narrow loss to Brevard (1st). “[At] Pisgah, we took a loss on Monday that we really should have won; we dominated the game even more so than here. We just didn’t have it in the tank, and it is what it is, but this was a good game. They’re staying with it; we didn’t lose, so it’s good for us.”