Latrobe girls soccer picks up pace, ends Franklin Regional win streak

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 9, 2023 | 10:22 PM

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With its offense moving efficiently and fluidly, Latrobe sped up the pace and created frequent scoring opportunities on the way to a 2-0 victory over Franklin Regional on Monday night in a Section 3-3A girls soccer game in Murrysville.

Junior midfielder Bri Hoffer and sophomore forward Annalyse Bauer produced goals for the fourth-ranked Wildcats (10-2, 8-2), who have won eight of nine after completing a two-game sweep of the Panthers (10-4-1, 7-3).

Both teams have secured a WPIAL playoff spot.

Latrobe won the first matchup 2-1 on two first-half goals. This time, Latrobe found the net twice in the second half while outshooting Franklin Regional, 23-4, over 80 minutes.

While Latrobe controlled possession and sent shots on frame in rapid succession, Franklin Regional never seemed all the way out of it, despite showing less vigor offensively and repeatedly chasing attackers up and down the field.

“(Franklin Regional) made some nice adjustments at halftime that gave us some problems,” Latrobe coach Jamie Campbell said. “We did a nice job of settling down and finding our rhythm.”

And that rhythm was wide build-outs, often times with junior Robin Reilly setting up the offense chances, and shots from around the horn.

Franklin Regional had a six-game unbeaten streak stopped.

“I didn’t have them ready tonight,” Panthers coach Scott Arnold said. “We focused on the wrong things and abandoned our build-out. When things got chaotic for us, it was hard to reclaim that calm.”

The Wildcats kept Panthers senior goalkeeper Aris Lamanna busy. The Coastal Carolina commit had a volume night, making 16 saves.

“We were shooting where her strengths are,” Campbell said. “We had to change that as the game went on.

“We still need to find a way to be more clinical in front of the net.”

After a scoreless first half, the Wildcats finally broke through when their 11th shot went in.

Senior Regan Reilly’s shot was tipped away by Lamanna, but the ball came to Hoffer, who nailed the putback for a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute.

“That breakthrough there was a relief,” Campbell said. “But we had to keep the pressure on with their counter.”

Robin Reilly nearly made a two-goal lead with a header in close, but Lamanna stopped it with 14 minutes to play.

With about four minutes left, the Panthers nearly tied it as junior Eden Williams set up senior Paige McMillen for a volley near the 18. But McMillen’s attempt was stopped by Wildcats senior keeper Corrine Brunetto, who made four saves.

“We played better in the second half,” Arnold said. “We’re getting better with those short corners. You need to work on those kinds of things for the playoffs.”

A scramble in front and another deflection led to Latrobe’s second goal in the 78th minute.

A carom came to Robin Reilly and the ball sprung to Bauer, who finished for a 2-0 advantage.

“We wanted to do a little more (scoring),” Campbell said. “We did have some nice movement off the ball and we kept our composure.”

Latrobe has outscored its opponents 56-11 with six of the goals it has allowed coming in a pair of losses to Plum.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe