Panther girls soccer is on a three-win streak.
After beating archrival Smoky Mountain April 9, Franklin neared the halfway point of their conference schedule, playing two more Mountain Eight games the following week. With multi-goal wins over Henderson County foes, they improved their overall record to 7-3-2.
On April 13, they traveled to West Henderson to face the Falcons. There they pressured the Falcons’ defense early, posting several shots on goal including a near miss from Rylee Greene. Franklin couldn’t find the net however, ending the first half tied 0-0.
Eight minutes after the break West looked poised to break the deadlock, slipping past Panther defenders for a one-on-one chance at goal. Goalkeeper Carramia Ramos denied the Falcons however, making an excellent point-blank save to preserve her own clean sheet.
Seven minutes later Franklin pressed deep into West’s half, where Raelyn Greene found Nevaeh Kimsey in space. From 25 yards Kimsey sent a running shot toward West’s left goalpost, which bounced off the keeper’s fingertips into the net.
Less than a minute later Rylee Greene stole the ball from a West defender, and found Lilly Tux wide open in the middle. From 23 yards Tux hit the shot of the night, which fell perfectly over West’s keeper’s head into the net.
Down 2-0 with 25 minutes to play, the Falcons ratcheted up the pressure from there, bouncing a shot off Franklin’s right goalpost minutes later. Franklin held firm to the end however, thanks to more saves from Ramos and clears from Sadie Collins.
Two nights later they returned to Macon Middle School to kick off the second half of their conference schedule with East Henderson. In a rematch of their 2-0 win at East in their conference opener, Franklin once again controlled possession early on, creating several chances including two headers from Rylee Greene.
30 minutes in Franklin won a free kick in East’s half, where Lana Walker sent the shot of the night to the net’s top corner. The Panthers maintained their 1-0 lead until halftime.
Franklin won another free kick eight minutes after the break, where Bristol Brooks found Jessica Hernandez near the top of East’s 18-yard box. There Hernandez found Rylee Greene with a clever flick, who buried a shot to double Franklin’s lead.
Down 2-0 East doubled their efforts from there, bouncing a shot off Franklin’s right goalpost and another off Sadie Green. In the 63rd minute Kimsey stole the ball from defenders deep in East’s half, and found Tux with a well-placed cross into the box. Tux volleyed a shot into the net’s top right corner.
Just three minutes later Franklin won a throw-in deep in East’s half, where Brooks heaved the ball into the Eagle box. There it eventually fell to the feet of Hernandez, who found the lower left corner of the net.
With just five minutes left Franklin pressed another attack, where Alivia Clouse found Tux to the right of East’s goal. There Tux found the inside of the near post, giving Franklin a commanding 5-0 lead. East scored on a penalty kick just 30 second slater, but Franklin maintained their 5-1 lead to the final whistle.
“It feels good,” said Hernandez, a senior captain, after the win. “In all honesty, I was a little worried just because of the [close] first half, but I knew that the girls could do it.”
“They're really coming together. … It's a good feeling to start to pick up and kind of find out who we are,” said head coach Sam Vargas. “Before the game at our team meeting we talked about this [being] the official second half of the season [starting] today, and what kind of team are we? Who do we want to be? We know that winning every game is not necessarily achievable, but we win the games that we should, and we give meaning to the games that we should. We keep the ones that we may not be able to win close and competitive, and we just never give up.”
In sweeping their season series with East, Franklin continued their recent surge up the conference standings, ending the week in fourth place with a 4-3-1 record. Possibly on track for their best season in a decade, coaches and players are glad to be part of a winning team.
“Even when the game gets kind of slow and hard to find, you put girls in and they make plays happen, and that's exciting,” said Vargas. “When you score goals and you win games it's fun, so they're having fun. They're enjoying it, they're looking good, so [I’m] happy to see it. … That's the highest [number of goals] we’ve scored all year. … We scored a free kick, we finished a free kick and then we had three crosses, and that's a good feeling when you can find the net. Some nights you’re on and it works out, so it's good, and it's good for the girls. I’m really proud of them; they’re playing great.”
“I've been on the team for four years now; freshman year was the most interesting year,” said Hernandez of Franklin’s 3-12-4 season in 2023. “But I'd say that [of] these group of girls, all of them fight hard. They do their best every single time; I couldn’t be prouder of them. … It’s been amazing to watch.”
After making the varsity roster as a freshman, Hernandez endured three lean years with the program, biding her time as a clear leader for the team. With a recent infusion of young talent, the senior’s hard work has finally paid off.
“I was a captain sophomore year, which was interesting. Most of the upperclassmen were like, ‘Whoa, one of our underclassmen is a captain,’ so the girls have always respected me,” she said. “If I say something, they listen. I've never had any problems with them, and they've always looked up to me in a way, even since sophomore year. The freshmen would talk to me and say ‘Hey, what can I do better?’ – stuff like that. I've known most of them since middle school, so it's been great to be with them for this long.”