Panther women’s soccer is on a hot streak.
Since winning just one of their first six games, Sam Vargas’s team has been on a tear, earning three straight victories over Pisgah, Smoky Mountain and Murphy. They improved to 4-4-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the Mountain Seven, good for third place in the conference at the halfway point of their season.
On Monday, March 25, the Panthers traveled to Canton for a Mountain Seven clash with Pisgah. Having scored six goals in their first six matches, Franklin’s offense exploded, doubling their total for the season in just 80 minutes.
“That was our highest-scoring game, 6-1, and it was one of those games where everything was clicking for us,” said Vargas of his second career win as Panther head coach. “We knew Pisgah had some good players up top, but they had a weaker defense, and so we just tried to press them hard and make them mess up. We were rewarded with four goals in the first half and two goals in the second half, so it was a good turnaround for us. … We had a couple different scorers in that game, which is always encouraging. The girls are finding the back of the net and gaining confidence in that.”
After routing Pisgah, on April 1 Franklin returned to the Panther Pit for another Mountain Seven match with Smoky Mountain. There they once again looked sharp on offense early, pushing several promising attacks up the left sideline led by Lily Holt. Despite these and a good-looking shot from Christina Ruelas Rodriguez, Smoky’s defense kept them out of the net through the first half-hour.
With three minutes left in the half, the home fans received a scare when Smoky slipped past Panther defenders up the left side. Sophomore goalkeeper Carramia Anthony-Ramos stood tall however, charging the Mustang attacker to keep the match scoreless at the break.
In the 48th minute Franklin finally broke through, when Lily Coker snuck a shot just underneath Smoky’s goalkeeper’s hands. Panther defenders led by Sadie Collins and Nadia Owle protected their 1-0 lead to the final whistle.
“At half we were tied 0-0, and they came off the field as if they had lost,” said Vargas. “I told them, ‘Whoever scores the first goal is gonna win the game,’ because it was just that kind of game back and forth, and the pressure doesn’t swing often. We got the goal and it rang true, and we scored early in the second half so we had to really defend the rest of the half. … I just saw a different fight, a different attitude, and now we’re 3-1-1 in-conference, so that’s really good improvement for us.”
After routing Pisgah the previous week, Franklin ground out a much different type of win, finding the net when it mattered most and holding their lead with gritty defending. The victory improved the team to third in the Mountain Seven standings, behind only 4-0 West Henderson and 3-0 Tuscola.
Three nights later the Panthers traveled to Murphy for a non-conference meeting with the Bulldogs. There they played another strong match on both sides of the pitch.
“From whistle to whistle we pretty much dominated the game. I would probably say possession was like 75-25 [percent in favor of Franklin],” said Vargas. “Bre Pelletier found the net first on a cross from Lily Holt, and there were like four attempts that we had had before that were really close. … Later on in the game Lily Holt had a goal from outside the [18-yard box] about 25 yards out, so that was a big-time goal for her. In the second half Rylee Green, who typically plays forward for us ended up playing an attacking center-mid, and she found a rebounded ball outside the 18. It was a really solid game - I think overall, that was our best game as a team.”
Despite missing several players to spring break, the Panthers fired on all cylinders in Murphy, netting three goals and holding Smoky Mountain Conference Player of the Year Lailee Holloway scoreless. Riding high on a three-win streak, Vargas said the team has come a long way since the start of the year.
“I put some players in different places and moved some players around, and asked them just to play more freely than they normally feel,” said Vargas of his tactics in Cherokee County. “Typically, we’re stringing only two or three passes together at a time; in that game we were able to string like seven or eight passes together. Defensively Murphy only crossed our side of the field like three times, so it was a really good all-around game for us. I’m really impressed by them and the way they responded in a long week on their spring break - you can’t ask for more.”