Fiery Franklin Regional boys get revenge against Belle Vernon with resounding win

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 2, 2025 | 11:11 PM

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Franklin Regional had its annual campus bonfire Thursday night.

Shortly after the fire department doused the flames, the boys soccer team went out and smoked Belle Vernon.

Aidan Alexander and Michael Hillebrand each scored two goals as the fifth-ranked Panthers avenged an earlier loss to the visiting Leopards in dominant fashion, winning 6-0 in Section 3-3A play at Panther Stadium.

“Tonight, we got up and down and a lot of guys came in and played well for us,” Franklin Regional coach Nick White said. “Each section game is the next most important game, and that is what we’ve been preaching. We put that loss behind us.

“Belle Vernon is a strong, stingy defensive team.”

Franklin Regional was all of those things, too, in front of their largest crowd of the season, which included a vociferous student section.

The section-leading Panthers (12-2, 6-2), who put up three goals in each half, have won seven of eight and now have eight shutouts.

Belle Vernon (7-8-1, 5-4) stunned Franklin Regional earlier in the season with a 1-0 win in double overtime. It was, at the time, the Panthers’ first loss.

The Leopards have been in eight one-goal games, but this one was a far cry from that category.

The shot differential told the story: Panthers 20, Leopards 1.

“They brought a lot of intensity and smothered us in our end,” Belle Vernon coach Tyler Caterino said. “I thought there were moments where we defended well, but other times it was too easy for them, and they broke us down.”

Landon Bell, who scored the golden goal in the teams’ first meeting, missed his second game with an injury.

Both teams, though, welcomed back injured players.

For the Panthers it was Keaton Sheetz and Aidan Schlagel, and both contributed.

“We brought so much energy and we were hungry,” said Sheetz, who injured his knee in the second game of the season at Penn-Trafford. “Everyone who came out on that field wanted it. We wanted to prove we could beat that team.

“I am so excited to be back with the boys.”

Jackson Pressel and Carter Stairs, meantime, rejoined the Leopards lineup.

Fabrizzio Costa added a goal and an assist, opening the scoring with a penalty kick in the 16th minute. Alexander and Hillebrand added first-half goals as the Panthers took a 3-0 lead into intermission.

Alexander, who later had an assist, crashed the net and scored off a corner from Costa.

Alexander, Hillebrand — with a header off a corner — and Luca Aguilera had goals in the second half.

“We scored the first three goals on a PK, a corner and a throw-in,” White said. “We wanted to keep attacking, and score in any means necessary.”

Rory Bayne, Ethan Falvo and Josh Smith also were credited with assists.

“The more we start to get healthy, the more that helps our depth,” White said. “When we put guys in, the level doesn’t drop.”

Goalkeeper Morgan Bunch had a hectic night, barely getting time to rest between Panthers’ reloads. He finished with 11 saves.

On the other end, Emerson Bush was barely tested.

Belle Vernon will get six days off before its next game, next Thursday against Allderdice. It won’t play another section game for 11 days.

“We need some time to mentally reset,” said Caterino, whose team has lost three straight. “We’ve played the top teams in the section back-to-back-to-back. We’ve had a tough stretch of games. We can learn from these moments and get better from them.”

Trenton Slavick, a transfer from WPIAL member California, where Caterino used to coach, played his first game for Belle Vernon.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional