Panther women’s soccer have earned their first win of the year.
After playing just three games in their first three weeks, on March 18 Franklin kicked off the heart of their season, hosting East Henderson for their first of three conference games in five days. With a win over East and a loss to Tuscola, first-year head coach Sam Vargas’s team ushered in a new era for Panther women’s soccer.
On a cold, windy Monday evening at the Panther Pit, Franklin hosted East Henderson in both teams’ conference opener. There, disaster nearly struck the home team early, as East narrowly missed three shots in the first three minutes. In the seventh minute however, junior Lily Holt turned the game on its head, stealing the ball from an East defender and beating the goalkeeper at point-blank range.
Franklin doubled their lead in the 13th minute, when a Panther corner kick was initially defended but fell to the feet of sophomore Alauna Kiser. In the 16th minute, Holt noticed East’s keeper off her line, chipping a beautiful shot over the keeper’s head from 30 yards.
Franklin protected their lead for the next 20 minutes, getting excellent defending from junior right back Nadia Owle, junior left back Daisy Altamirano, and junior left/central midfielder Breanna Pelletier. East finally got on the board less than five minutes from halftime, building an attack up the right side to cut their deficit to 3-1.
Henderson attackers stayed hot in the second half, winning a free kick near Franklin’s goal and scoring on a ricochet just three minutes in. Having seen their 3-0 lead become 3-2, the next three minutes were nervous ones for Franklin, until they won a free kick of their own just outside East’s 18-yard box. From a difficult angle near the right sideline, Kiser fired a perfectly-placed shot, beating East’s keeper inside the near post to give her team some much-needed breathing room.
Franklin regained control for the next 30 minutes, beating back East’s attacks to maintain their 4-2 lead. With six minutes to play the Eagles finally broke through, slipping past Panther defenders to halve their deficit.
With Franklin’s lead again cut to one, East pulled out all the stops in the final minutes, winning a corner kick with 4:30 left to play. Goalkeeper Carramia Anthony-Ramos deflected the pass however, and held East scoreless the rest of the way.
“Today I saw the purpose to win,” said Vargas of his first victory as varsity head coach. “We had a motto today: ‘Just win the moment,’ and the game is comprised of many moments. There was the second-chance ball in the box off a corner kick. Lily Holt won her moment beating the left back coming around the outside for a shot on the keeper to open up the game, and then she had that one from almost 30 yards out where she just shot it and took a chance. … I saw a team that wanted to win, and they had the determination as a team this time, not just as individuals.”
After several lean years in a row for the program, Monday’s win was a welcome result for the Panthers, ushering in a new era of Panther women’s soccer. Having coached the Macon Middle School boys to conference titles the past two years, Vargas seems to have infused the varsity women with a brand new energy, exemplified by one of the best players from Monday’s match.
“I switched positions because I was at midfield, and I felt like I didn’t have an eye out for the whole team and I couldn’t see the whole field,” said Owle of her move to the back line this year. “This year I know that I want to come out loose, so I have the urge to fight back. The defense is looking really good, and we’re blocking the ball.”
“It feels really good after coming back from a bad season. I’m really excited about this upcoming year. Since we didn’t win that much last year, I feel like this year we’re really striving to win, and maybe even place in the top three in the conference,” Owle said.
After their nail-biting win over East, two nights later the team returned to the Panther Pit for a match with Tuscola. There, disaster did strike the home team early, as the Mountaineers broke free of Panther defenders and scored in the opening minute. Franklin quickly settled in after the wake-up call, holding the Mounties scoreless through the rest of the half.
Tuscola received another chance in the 53rd minute, winning a free kick just outside Franklin’s box near the right sideline. On a high cross into the box, the Mounties redirected the ball toward Franklin’s goal, but were thwarted by a goal line clear from freshman center back Sadie Collins.
Tuscola gained some breathing room with 11 minutes to play, winning the ball near midfield and pressing toward Franklin’s goal. Panther attackers couldn’t answer and fell 2-0.