Panther women’s soccer is through to the postseason.
Entering their last match of the regular season, Franklin stood at 33rd in the 3A West Rankings, just one spot shy of the region’s 32-team playoff field. Despite a Mountain Seven Conference loss to West Henderson, they qualified for the 3A state playoffs, traveling to North Davidson for a first-round match May 13.
On Tuesday, May 7 the Panthers hosted West to rehash their 7-0 loss to the Falcons April 8. There the rematch looked quite different in the early goings, with Franklin ceding just one goal in roughly the first half-hour. However, West soon proved why they played in last year’s 3A West Final, going on to win 9-0.
“It was a close game [early], and you never want to go into a game knowing you’re going to lose, but it’s really hard to win a game like this,” said first-year head coach Sam Vargas, who has infused the team with a newfound energy this year. “We had some good runs early, we had some opportunities and held them for a while, so it’s difficult at times. … You’re playing a team that can score on you in many different ways, but we gave it the best we could and we left it all on the line.”
In falling to the 3A juggernauts, Franklin ended their season with a 7-9-1 record overall and a 6-5-1 record in-conference, good for third behind 12-0 West and 9-1-1 Tuscola. Still unsure of whether they’d be named among the 3A West playoff field, which was to be announced by the N.C. High School Athletic Association later that week, Vargas tried to keep his team prepared for either situation.
“We’re really close to making the playoffs, so we’re trying to keep their heads in the game” he said.
While in most ranking systems the loss likely would have kept Franklin out of the playoffs, the Falcons’ 18-1 record actually helped Franklin’s chances.
Due to the complexity of ranking 440 member schools and to prevent coaches from padding their teams’ records versus subpar programs, the NCHSAA employs a mathematical seeding formula known as the Ratings Percentage Index. In RPI rankings, a team’s own winning percentage (WP) accounts for just 30% of its score, with their opponents’ winning percentage (OWP) making up another 40% and their opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (OOWP) making up the final 30%.
While the loss dropped Franklin’s own WP down to roughly 44%, West’s percentage of 95% boosted the Panthers’ OWP, improving them to 31st in the 3A West rankings.
On Friday, May 10 the team finally learned their fate, drawing 2nd-ranked North Davidson in the first round of the state playoffs. The team traveled to Lexington to battle the 17-2 Black Knights after press time May 13.