It’s been a tough stretch for Panther women’s soccer.
On the week of March 27, Franklin played two Mountain Seven games, a home clash with North Henderson and a trip to Smoky Mountain. While they weren’t able to earn a conference win, a freshman goalkeeper provided a clear bright spot for Dwight Long’s team.
Having tied Blue Ridge Early College in their first-ever match at the Panther Pit following years of problems with the Macon Middle School field, on Monday, March 27, the team returned to the FHS campus. Against a North team with a 2-1 record in the conference, freshman Carramia Anthony-Ramos earned the start in goal for Franklin, having impressed in limited action over the previous few games.
The Panthers looked sharp to begin the contest, matching up well with a talented Knight side. Just two minutes in however, disaster struck the home team, when Anthony-Ramos made a seemingly clean charge on an attacker but was assessed a penalty in the box. North converted the penalty kick for a very early 1-0 lead.
For the next half-hour, the Knights continued threatening the Panther goal, but were beaten back every time by several impressive saves from Anthony-Ramos. With 5:30 left in the half, North finally succeeded, landing a beautiful shot just inside the top right corner of the net. The Knights ended the half up 2-0.
North extended their lead less than five minutes into the second, sending another well-placed shot to the net’s lower right corner. Anthony-Ramos kept it a three-goal match less than three minutes later, charging a Knight who had broken free from the defense to deny a one-on-one scoring opportunity.
With half an hour to play, the Panther offense nearly broke through, when freshman midfielder/forward Isabella Shope redirected a corner kick just wide of North’s near post. With 17:30 to play however, the Knights put the match even further out of reach, sending a well-placed cross into the box and redirecting it for a 4-0 lead.
In the final minutes, senior forward/captain Jasmin Valencia finally ended North’s clean sheet, seeing the Knight keeper off her line and scoring from a difficult leftward angle. Officials awarded North another PK moments later, which they converted to make the final score 5-1.
Anthony-Ramos turned in an excellent performance in the loss, making decisive plays in goal and booting strong punts and goalkicks. After the match, the freshman said she was glad to be able to help her team on the field.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity, and I’m really happy that they chose me,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard; we’ve been working nonstop. I think I’ve really improved. … I think we’re doing good. We just need to not let our mistakes get to us, because we really just start slowing down once we make mistakes.”
In addition to Anthony-Ramos’s play, the match carried a clear significance for the team despite the result. As the first-ever Panther women’s team to play an official contest in the Panther Pit, some players felt their season represents a milestone on FHS history.
“I like it, just because we’re the first girls’ team to ever play on the football field,” said sophomore midfielder Lily Holt. “[For] a lot of people in the past, especially the girls’ teams, trying to get onto the football field has been so hard. Finally we get to, and it’s so great, especially because my mom played for Franklin women’s soccer, too. She tried, but she couldn’t play on the football field, and I get to. That’s pretty cool.”
“Even in BFS [Bigger, Faster, Stronger, a physical education class taken primarily by Panther athletes] fourth period, we’re all the way to the other field and we’re trying to get back to class, and when we try to walk through it, they’re like, ‘Go around,’” said Valencia.
After just their second-ever match at the Panther Pit, on Wednesday, March 29, the team traveled to Smoky Mountain for a match with the archrival Mustangs. There, another goal from Valencia was not enough to carry Franklin, who ended the week with their second 5-1 loss. The result dropped the Panthers to 1-4 in the Mountain Seven Conference, good for sixth place behind 1-2-1 Smoky.