Panther men’s soccer have earned their first conference win in a thriller.
After a difficult start to their Mountain Seven schedule, dropping their first three matches including two by one goal apiece, on the week of Oct. 7 Franklin had a chance to right the ship. Despite a narrow loss to Smoky Mountain, a comeback win over East Henderson seemed to energize the team for the rest of the season.
On Monday, Oct. 7 the Panthers traveled to Sylva for a match with Smoky. There Franklin nearly got on the board just two minutes in, when sophomore Kevin Torres fired a rocket from 16 yards out. Smoky’s goalkeeper couldn’t field the shot cleanly and deflected it back to the middle, but Franklin couldn’t cash in and the keeper recovered the ball. The keeper later saved shots from Aaron Dewhurst and Greg Karcher to protect his clean sheet until the half.
Smoky finally broke the deadlock in the 46th minute, sending a cross into Franklin’s box and connecting from point-blank range. Five minutes later a Mustang broke free from Panther defenders, but was thwarted by a well-timed charge from goalkeeper Ken Modlin.
In the 57th minute Smoky broke free from defenders again, but right back Cameron Lyons made an excellent play to chase the Mustang down. Despite Lyons’ efforts however, Smoky won a corner kick on the play and connected to double their lead.
With less than 15 minutes to play Smoky lobbed a high pass into Franklin’s box, where a Mustang made a move toward the ball. Anticipating a second touch, Modlin charged to block the Mustang’s path, but the Mustang missed and the ball bounced lazily into the goal.
Despite their misfortune, Franklin kept their foot on the gas in the final minutes, wherein Alex Trivett found Josiah Mascorro streaking up the right side. Outrunning a Mustang to the corner flag, Mascorro found Kevin Torres near the top of Smoky’s box, who snuck a beautiful volley inside the left post to make it 3-1.
Trivett created another chance with just three minutes to play, launching a throw-in nearly 25 yards into Smoky’s box. There a Mustang tried to clear the ball but sent it back into his own goal, where junior Wyatt Parlier scored an easy tap-in to make it 3-2. Franklin’s comeback ran out of time however, and Smoky held on to win.
“The very beginning of that game – probably the first 10 minutes – we played extremely well,” said head coach Matt Kolodzik after the match. “At the very end of that match they picked up their level as far as going to get two goals within seven minutes or something like that within the last [15]. Very impressive, and we were pressing still. If we’d had a few more minutes, maybe we break through and get an equalizer.”
Following their near-comeback versus Smoky, two nights later the team returned to the Panther Pit for a match with East. There the start of the match featured plenty of action, with both teams posting shots on goal inside the first minute.
Both teams continued trading chances throughout the early goings, until East pressed up the right side 15 minutes in. There an Eagle bested tough defense from the Panthers, finding a small patch of grass for a well-placed shot inside the left post.
Disaster struck Franklin with five minutes left in the half, when a Panther committed a handball inside his own box. East converted the ensuing penalty kick to double their lead. In the final minute Mascorro made a deft move past defenders into East’s box, but East’s keeper saved his shot near the right post to keep a two-goal lead.
Mascorro kept pressing the Eagles after the half, evading multiple defenders in a run up the right side eight minutes in. With space near the corner flag, the senior sent a cross over an Eagle’s head into the box, where senior Aaron Dewhurt volleyed a shot inside the left post.
With 15 minutes to play Mascorro continued his excellent match, receiving a pass from Miguel Cruz near the top right corner of East’s box. Seeing East’s keeper off his line, the senior lobbed a beautiful shot to the far top corner of the net.
Having gone from two goals down to tied 2-2, Franklin controlled the game’s momentum in the final minutes, creating several more chances in the next few minutes. With 10 minutes to play Dewhurst won a loose ball near the left sideline, and found Jason Patino with a well-placed pass into the box. With defenders in his way, Patino found Torres just a few yards away, who found the left side of the net to put his team ahead. Franklin defended their 3-2 lead to the final whistle for a brilliant comeback win.
“It’s amazing. After our little losing streak we had, this game just feels like I’m on top of the world,” Mascorro said after the match. “Just watching everybody play our game and have our chemistry actually working tonight, it was great.”
While four straight losses to open their conference schedule will be tough to overcome, the win over East might be just the boost of confidence the Panthers need. With three of their four losses (at East, at Tuscola, at Smoky) coming on the road and by one goal apiece, Mascorro felt Wednesday’s match could spark a late-season streak.
“I think this is our kick-start to get us going for the season and go 8-4,” he said.
Having improved to 1-4 in the Mountain Seven, Franklin continued their conference schedule versus Tuscola after press time Oct. 14.