Franklin Regional boys soccer team going for WPIAL title under 1st-year coach

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | 8:06 PM

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There wasn’t a specific moment, an omen or a sign that pointed to this playoff run.

No, for Franklin Regional, it was simply playing precise, sound soccer at the right time.

The team’s first-year coach knew he had something special from the start. Watching it blossom into another title contender has been special, too.

“Honestly,” coach Nick White said, “I was sold on them before we ever played a game.”

The Panthers (14-3-2) are back in the WPIAL final for the fourth time since 2017 after a 2-1 win Monday night over Mars in the Class 3A semifinals.

While the Steelers were holding off the New York Giants on the North Shore, Franklin Regional was in Dormont validating its place among the WPIAL’s best with another impressive victory over another higher-seeded opponent.

The Panthers, who ran their unbeaten streak to six, will take on No. 1 seed Moon (21-0) at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

Franklin Regional, which also clinched a PIAA playoff berth for the first time since ’21, won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 2018 and ’19 and was the runner-up in ’20.

When he was hired, White said, “This program is a machine at work. I just want to put my touch on it.”

White, a first-time head coach, is the team’s fourth coach in five years, so maintaining a high level within the program could have been a challenge.

Instead, White embraced the task and allowed his players to help guide him instead of making sweeping changes. He opened a line of communication so he could understand them and work with them better.

He said he appreciates the culture that already was in place when he took over.

“I knew this team had all the pieces to be a great team,” he said. “But you never know how everything will work out.

“Honestly, and this will sound ridiculous, but I saw something in the group the first time I met the team. Just their attentiveness during that meeting. Then I met with the seniors afterward, and we talked about making the most out of their final season.”

A trip to a team camp in Erie in the preseason, White said, was the starting line to this race, a time and place where the coach could see what made his players “tick.”

“Getting to see them train and grind, plus getting a feel for strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “But there was definitely a moment up there where I saw the boys come together and start becoming a team that cared about each other. That was huge.

“We’ve talked a lot about investment. Investing in the future with our fitness, our commitment, and our training. These boys have invested and sacrificed, and they’ve seen it come to fruition throughout the season.”

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

Tags: Franklin Regional