It’s been a good week for Panther men’s soccer.
After dropping their first match of the season 5-1 to Enka, on the week of Aug. 21 Franklin had a chance to build some momentum. In two matches with Blue Ridge Early College and one against Highlands, Matt Kolodzik’s team outscored their opponents 21-1 to improve their record to 3-1.
On Monday, Aug. 21, the team returned to the Panther Pit for their home opener versus Blue Ridge Early College. After routing the Bobcats 9-0 and 3-0 last fall, the Panthers ran into tougher opposition this time around, as BREC kicked off the match in an extremely defensive formation. Seeing BREC’s conservative tactics, Franklin was forced to stay patient, keeping possession and slowly building attacks from the rear. In the eighth minute, forward Kevin Torres shook a defender near BREC’s 18-yard box and sent a rocket toward goal, but the ball bounced off the top right corner of the post to a BREC defender. While he didn’t score, Torres – the brother of former two-time All-Conference striker Luis Torres – showed why he’s earned a starting role as a freshman.
For nearly half an hour, Torres’s strike remained Franklin’s most notable chance, with several others being thwarted by BREC or called offside by officials. With seven minutes left in the half, midfielder Jason Mesa finally broke through, stealing the ball from a Bobcat defender and finding the left side of the net. Five minutes later, defender Jaydon Pevia weaved all the way to BREC’s goal, but the Bobcat keeper made an excellent diving save low and to his right.
Clearly encouraged with only being down 1-0 at the half, BREC’s bubble was burst just three minutes into the second, when forward Josiah Mascorro sent a beautiful strike to the top left corner of the net.
Less than two minutes later, BREC sent a corner kick into Franklin’s box, but the Panthers escaped the danger and sprinted upfield for a counterattack. Upon receiving the ball near midfield, senior Ulises Padron-Perez found Torres with a well-placed through pass, who shook a defender and beat the keeper to give his team a 3-0 lead.
With 20 minutes to play, BREC’s keeper saved a Padron-Perez shot, but the ball bounced to the feet of Mascorro for an easy finish. With 12:30 to play, Mascorro found senior Frankie Vallez with a throw-in inside the Bobcat half, who beat BREC’s keeper with a beautiful strike to the top left corner. The Panthers protected their 5-0 lead to the final whistle.
On Wednesday, Aug. 23, the team returned to the Panther Pit for an in-county matchup with Highlands. Feeling self-assured after demolishing BREC two nights earlier, Panther attackers wasted little time pressuring their rivals, forcing Highlands’ keeper to make a save just two minutes in. The ball bounced to Torres’s feet for an easy tap-in and a 1-0 advantage.
Two minutes later, Padron-Perez showed why he’s been the focal point of opponents’ game plans this season, weaving his way through Highlands’ defense and finding the lower left corner of the net to double Franklin’s lead. Amazingly, Torres beat the keeper to the same spot scarcely 10 seconds later.
In the seventh minute, Torres completed one of the fastest hat tricks imaginable, pressuring a Highlands defender and winning the ball near the top of the box for a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. The freshman’s goal put Franklin up 4-0 before dozens of fans had even found their seats.
In the 14th minute, Torres scored his fourth goal of the day, receiving a high through ball on the run and slipping it past the keeper to the lower left corner. Padron-Perez extended Franklin’s lead to five two minutes later when Highlands left him undefended roughly 25 yards from goal.
In the 19th minute, Highlands created their first real chance, breaking free from Panther defenders into Franklin’s box. Junior goalkeeper Will Sinclair stood tall however, making a tough diving save to his lower right. Sinclair seems to be the latest of several excellent Panther keepers in recent years (both men and women), showing confidence and good decision-making in goal and helping his offense with booming punts and goalkicks.
With 13 minutes left in the half, officials awarded Franklin a direct kick just outside the Highlands box. Vallez then loosed a beautiful shot to the top right corner of the net for a 7-0 lead. With eight minutes left, Highlands deflected a Panther corner kick back out into the middle of the pitch, where senior center back David Rubio collected the loose ball and sent a rocket to the lower right corner of the net from 20 yards.
Having replaced most of Franklin’s starters by this point, Panther reserves barely skipped a beat against Highlands’ first team. With four minutes left in the half, junior Alex Trivett found senior Yeins Chavez with a well-placed pass to the middle of the pitch, who found the top right corner of the net with an accurate strike. The shot triggered the N.C. Athletic Association’s nine-goal mercy rule, ending the match on the spot.
After dispatching Highlands, the next night the Panthers traveled to Cashiers for a rematch with BREC. There, they didn’t waste any time running up the score.
“We came out a little quicker [in the rematch,” said Kolodzik. “[On Monday] we were up 1-0 at the half, and [on Thursday] we were up 4-0 at halftime. I could sense right before halftime that we had a little bit of a lull. I felt like we just weren’t pressing as hard as we could, and I rotated some players in and that kind of thing. That sort of led into the second half, and they got in behind us with a ball. Our keeper, Will, came out and made a beautiful save, but actually took out one of their players at the same time. They got a penalty kick off that and scored. Will almost saved it - he actually did a great job and just about got to it.”
Having dominated the first half, the Panthers received a rude awakening in the second. After the penalty cut BREC’s deficit to 4-1, Kolodzik challenged his team not to let their lead slip away.
“I left a lot of our guys in there for a bit afterword, and just wanted to see how they responded,” he said. “They ended up getting three more goals in the second half, and I was really happy with their response to some adversity there.”
With two goals from Padron-Perez and one apiece from five other players, the Panthers departed Chasiers with a 7-1 victory. After building up the team’s confidence against two small-school programs, Kolodzik said their degree of difficulty would be ratcheted up this week.
“Without a doubt,” said Franklin’s manager on whether Rabun Gap would present a bigger challenge Aug. 29. “The last couple of years they’ve won their state championship for private schools. I think they ended last year ranked in the 30s in the country, so it’s gonna be a great match. I’ve been messaging back and forth with their athletic director, and they’re excited about it, too because it’s nice for both of us to play some close opponents and not have to drive forever. Fans from both sidces can get to the match, so I think it’s gonna be well-attended.”