Big goals for Franklin Regional

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 14, 2017 | 7:15 PM

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Franklin Regional is no stranger to the boys soccer postseason, but extended stays have eluded the Panthers.

With the Section 4 title in hand, the Class AAAA No. 3 Panthers are in line to be one of the top seeds when the WPIAL playoff pairings are released Wednesday, and they believe this year they are better built to make a run.

The Panthers (15-2-0, 10-2-0) have made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons, but during that stretch they have just two wins and never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. Coach Rand Hudson hopes the experience of past years will benefit his team, much the same way it did to come out above Penn-Trafford and Norwin in a highly competitive section for their first title in three years.

“Last year's team was very young. Now, we're more experienced, and we also have a strong freshman class that doesn't necessarily play much, but they're able to push us in practice,” Hudson said. “It's a very mature team, and the style of play we play, we keep the ball a lot. That means even if we're not scoring, the other team has to play defense, and it allows us to control the game.”

When the team learned before the season it would be losing all-WPIAL forward Moshe Simpson, whose family moved out of state, it might have raised questions about where the offense would come from.

As it turns out, the Panthers have been able to produce goals with a balanced attack. Franklin Regional has 43 goals but no 10-goal scorers on the season, and one of the leaders of that attack with seven goals, senior Dom DiFalco, is a converted defender playing as the lone forward in his team's 4-5-1 formation.

“I play center back for (club team) AFFC, and I played center midfield in high school before this year,” DiFalco said. “With guys like Auston Kranick and Zach Guidry and our other midfielders, there's not pressure on me to score two goals every game. That's a big asset to this team that we don't have to rely on one guy, and other teams can't just focus on marking one guy.”

While the team has developed a flowing style of play, their defense has been equally adept in winning the ball and maintaining possession.

The Panthers have conceded only 11 goals, and only once have they given up more than one in a game, a 2-1 overtime loss to Penn-Trafford. Junior goalkeeper Jeremy Lucas has been solid, and his back line, anchored by senior center back Jack Trapanotto, has led the Panthers to four shutouts in their current seven-game winning streak.

Not only has Franklin Regional put together a strong regular season, it has done so against a challenging schedule. The Panthers have wins over Class AAA No. 1 West Allegheny and Class AAAA No. 5 Central Catholic, and they split the season series with both Penn-Trafford and No. 4 Norwin.

“Our defense is very strong, and that's helped because we're a very possessive team,” Trapanotto said. “The playoffs are tough with the one-goal games, but we're ready to lock it down and get forward now with Dom up top and combination play between Shane (Popko), Auston and Justin LeDonne. The section title was what we wanted from the start, but now our bigger goal is to get past the second round, because we've never done that before.”

One-goal games are common enough in playoff soccer, but for Franklin Regional, they've been unavoidable. The team's last seven playoff games have been decided by one goal, including a first-round loss to Bethel Park in a shootout in 2014, the last time the Panthers were a section champion.

But where the Panthers have come up short in the past, this year's group believes their experience and time playing together will be what makes the difference to get them over the quarterfinal hurdle.

“I think we've learned from the experience of those early exits,” said Popko, a midfielder and two-year captain. “We've learned we need to bury our chances when we get them and carry out the game plan we've had this season. We can exploit teams through our passing, and if we keep doing that, we can reach what we've strived for this season.”

Matt Grubba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mgrubba@tribweb.com

Tags: Franklin Regional