Panther men’s soccer has picked up two big conference wins.
On the week of Oct. 16, the team faced two of their last regular-season games: a home date with North Henderson and a trip to Smoky Mountain. With just one conference match to play, Franklin improved to 10-7 overall and 6-5 in the Mountain Seven, bolstering their ranking for the 3A State Playoffs starting Oct. 30.
“We went to North and lost 2-1 there, and normally when you get back home there’s gonna be a slight change,” said head coach Matt Kolodzik of his team’s narrow loss in Hendersonville Sept. 20. “We won that match 3-2, but the way you win of course is really important, and I felt like with North we were stringing together possession, we were making a lot more runs, our touch was on. All the things that we’ve kind of worked for all season as far as leadership and that kind of thing, you’re starting to see it come to fruition.”
After falling to 8-0 Pisgah the previous week, the fourth-place Panthers faced another tough test at home Oct. 16, hosting the the third-place, 6-3 Knights at the Panther Pit. As he’s done all season, senior talisman Ulises Padron-Perez treated the home fans to a show, receiving a first-half pass from freshman Kevin Torres deep inside the Knight half. Running up the left side, the senior used a Knight defender’s momentum against him, letting him overcommit to the left then quickly cutting to the right. With an open shot inside the 18-yard box, he beat North’s keeper inside the left goalpost to put his team in front.
Still ahead 1-0 at the half, Padron-Perez doubled Franklin’s lead after the break, receiving a well-placed cross from Josiah Mascorro and finding the net from point-blank range. With two goals of their own in the half, North threatened to steal a draw from the Panthers, but sophomore Greg Karcher corralled a loose ball inside the box and beat North’s keeper for the game-winning goal. The victory was the team’s first over North Henderson since 2018.
Two nights later, the team traveled to Smoky to rehash their 7-2 home win over the Mustangs last month. While the rematch wasn’t nearly as high-scoring as the first meeting, Franklin took care of business on a chilly night in Sylva.
“Last night, I felt like our style of soccer – the way they’re moving, the teamwork, the possession – is starting to really gel,” said Kolodzik. “Uli [Padron-Perez] sprained his ankle when it was 0-0 in the first half, and I put a couple guys in at different positions just to look for a spark. I put Jason Patino who hasn’t played a ton this year, up at that “Number 9” position at center forward, and he really played well. I felt like he hustled, he created some opportunities and really helped to move the ball and keep possession.”
With their star senior sidelined, Franklin nevertheless continued stressing Smoky, with Patino drawing plenty of attention from Mustang defenders. While they were unable to break through in a first half that ended 0-0, they did have a bit more luck after the break.
“Greg actually hit a beautiful shot, and then we had a set piece that we call ‘The Lunch Line,’” said Kolodzik. “It’s kind of a fun one where the guys line up and basically run over the ball and shoot different directions. We had them kind of discombobulated as far as trying to cover us, and it was sent in and Kevin Torres finished it off.”
With goals from Karcher and Torres, Franklin departed Sylva with a 2-0 win, ending the week just half a game behind the 6-4-1 Knights. In a crucial last match of the season after press time Oct. 23, the Panthers hosted 8-2 West Henderson, with big implications for both teams’ playoff positioning the following week.
“We’ve busted through, got a couple of injuries but nothing major, and I think they’ll overcome and be ready for Monday,” said Kolodzik, cautiously optimistic about Padron-Perez’s ankle. “I’m excited to see what we can do, how far we can go. Seeding will take place next Friday, and we’ve got a pretty good RPI [Rating Percentage Index] rating. I think we’re number 16 right now in the [3A] West at 10-7, so we’re kind of teetering on whether or not we can have a home match or we’re away first round. Of course we’d love to have a home match, but we’ve got to take care of business on Monday.”