Panther men’s soccer is keeping their state playoff hopes alive.
In the midst of a difficult schedule Franklin’s young team has had its ups and downs, entering their last five regular season matches needing a strong finish. After a narrow loss at North Henderson and a home win over Smoky Mountain, the 7-11 Panthers ranked 29th in the 3A West standings, just inside its hypothetical 32-team playoff field.
On Oct. 21 the team traveled to Hendersonville for a match with the Knights. There both teams looked evenly matched early on, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
The second half started in much the same way, remaining goalless at the three-quarter mark despite a Kevin Torres shot off the right post. The match heated up in the last 17 minutes however, when Greg Karcher nestled a 20-yard shot inside the top right corner of the net.
North responded just four minutes later, launching a deep shot of their own from 25 yards. The shot struck the crossbar and bounced right to a waiting Knight, who tapped in an easy volley to equalize.
Just two minutes later North recreated their winning formula, surprising Franklin with an even longer shot from more than 30 yards. The shot fell perfectly under the crossbar for the winning goal. After recent come-from-behind home wins over East Henderson and Tuscola, Franklin was forced to play the opposite role.
“We went up at North 1-0 and ended up losing that game, and I said, ‘Guys, we must just play better when we’re down,’” said head coach Matt Kolodzik. “I don’t know what’s going on with that.”
Two nights later the team returned to the Panther Pit for a Senior Night match with Smoky. In a rematch of Smoky’s 3-2 win in Sylva Oct. 7, both teams looked evenly matched once again, staying deadlocked in the early goings with Franklin’s nine seniors on the pitch. With two minutes left in the first half Smoky won a throw-in near midfield, and slipped behind defenders for a breakaway goal.
Franklin kept creating chances in the second, highlighted by a Miguel Cruz near-miss just one minute in. 12 minutes later Torres found Mascorro with a well-placed pass to the right, who sent a cross into the 18-yard box deflected by Smoky. On the ensuing corner kick Mascorro found Cruz for a point-blank shot, which was saved but fell to Torres for a tap-in goal.
Tied 1-1 Mascorro kept up the pressure on Smoky, finding Wyatt Parlier inside Smoky’s box with a beautiful cross. There Parlier struck an even better shot over Smoky’s goalkeeper, which fell just under the crossbar to give Franklin the lead.
With six minutes to play Mascorro capped an excellent match, stealing the ball from Smoky near midfield and taking off up the right sideline. The senior outran defenders to Smoky’s box for a close-range shot, which was saved but fell to Torres for his second goal of the night. Franklin defended their 3-1 lead to the final whistle.
“I saw, again, the team that we can be. This is a team that was toward the top of the conference,” said Kolodzik of exacting revenge on Smoky. “They showed a lot of heart, and a lot of effort. It was great to see the seniors go in there in the beginning – I left them in for a while and they played really good soccer, so I was happy with it. I told them more than anything we want to let these seniors have a great memory of their Senior Night … and they did.”
The win over Smoky improved Franklin to 3-6 in the Mountain Seven, illustrating the miniscule difference between and overall quality of its teams. With just three conference games remaining including a home rematch with North, Kolodzik felt his team was hitting its stride at the right time.
“The biggest thing is they’re showing more character again, where they know if they’re down they can come back,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what the deficit is, they know that they can control a match.”