By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
FRANKLIN, Mass. – After a solid opening couple minutes, Franklin found itself on the back foot. Waltham, coming off its first playoff win in nearly two decades, started Thursday afternoon’s Div. 1 Sweet Sixteen contest at Beaver Pond Field intent on testing the relatively young Panthers and putting pressure on the higher seed.
The Panthers were struggling to move the ball, connect passes, and even get over half. They were pinned back in front of their own goal and the Hawks forced four corners in quick succession. Through it all, the Franklin defense held firm and senior goalie Devon Barry was untroubled.
For the second playoff game in a row, it took Franklin time to get into its usual rhythm but the defense continued to hold firm and give the attack time to click. The Panthers eventually did find their offense, getting goals from senior Addi Weiss and freshman Cade Taccini to beat Waltham 2-0 and advance to a fifth straight quarterfinal.
“They had way too many offensive corners,” Franklin coach Michelle Hess said, “but I don’t really get nervous because we’re good at them. We have a good system, we’ve got it figured out, so I knew we’d be okay, but you just don’t know, they slip one in and that’s the game-changer. We can’t give them up.”
The first quarter was notable for Waltham’s pressure and for the lack of goal-scoring opportunities for either team. Miyana Bahl did find the back of the net for the Hawks, but her shot was outside the circle and Barry smartly watched it roll harmlessly over the line.
Asked about what has made the Franklin defense, which includes senior Ava Lucenta, junior Jossie Camp, and sophomores Clara Blongastainer and Samantha Feigen, Barry explained, “Myself and Ava like to direct traffic around there. We’ve played together so long, we know where to tell people to move. Especially on corners, I’ll step out of the goal. I’ll make sure everyone’s situated, everyone’s calm and taken a breath and we’re set and ready.”
Franklin started to find some joy in the attacking half of the field starting in the second quarter. From a corner routine, Ella Marzullo passed it to Tori Cahill, who slipped a pass on the edge of the circle to Taccini. The freshman looked into the middle and found Marzullo, but the shot was just wide of the post.
Two minutes later, on the second corner in a row, Camp teed up Taccini on the edge of the circle, but the shot blazed past the post.
Finally, with 2:37 left in the half, Franklin got a breakthrough. Blongastainer won possession back for the Panthers and Camp showed great composure to move the ball out of defense. In transition, Taccini fired it into the circle and Weiss was able to settle the ball and blast it through the save attempt from Nina Joannidis.
“It took a little pressure off. It helped them to settle in,” Hess said of the goal. “We’re so young and I think that inexperienced showed a little today. We’ve got to keep working with them, just flush it and don’t let them get in your head.”
One goal is never a comfortable lead. Waltham went back on the offensive for the final couple minutes of the quarter and nearly got a tying goal with no time on the clock. From a late corner, Bahl found Meri Guden in space on the left side of goal but her shot skimmed across the crease and just missed the far post.
The second half was more of what everyone has become accustomed to from the Panthers. Their intensity seemed a little higher and they were pressuring the ball more quickly, forcing turnovers and turning them into chances. Taccini got it started with an interception and she picked out sophomore Penelope Brady on the right side, but her shot flashed across goal.
Late in the third, Caydence Canavan forced a turnover and found Brady on the opposite side, but Joannidis made the stop. Another Canavan steal opened up space for Marzullo to have a run and shot. It was blocked but Taccini pounced on the rebound and forced another save.
The best chance to double the lead came with a minute left in the quarter. Marzullo picked off the ball in midfield and slipped a pass into the run of Brady on the right wing. The sophomore was clean through on goal, but Joannidis stood tall to make the save.
Asked about the play of Franklin’s underclassmen, Barry (who started in goal as a freshman) said, “I kind of know how they feel and the legacy that they want to build. Each of them wants to be part of something great and something really special. We like to say ‘play for your seniors’, play so we all go out on a high.”
One of the standout players in Franklin’s defensive unit was Camp. The junior seemed to always be in the way when Waltham tried to come through the middle and her presence of mind in possession allowed the Panthers to escape danger and get into the attack.
“Phenomenal,” Hess said about Camp’s play. “She has the experience from last year that’s carrying over and I think we found her spot, moving her position this year. I think it helps having her a line back because she has that time and she’s so calm and her IQ is so high that she makes better decisions.”
Franklin got a crucial insurance goal on its eighth corner of the day. Canavan started the play with a pass out to freshman Amelia Manning, who settled the ball for Taccini to wind up and smash it through a crowd and inside the post.
The Panthers almost added another goal from another corner. Lucenta got it started with a pass out to Taccini and, with Waltham defenders racing out to block, found Marzullo for a shot that skipped wide.
“I think we’re always holding each other accountable and lifting each other up because we know what’s on the line,” Barry replied when asked about the consistency of the program to be back at this stage for the fifth season in a row.
She continued, “If you lose, you go home, so I think we all have that thought in our heads that we don’t want it to be our last chance. We always like to think one game at a time, so whatever we can do to get to that next game.”
Franklin (15-2-3) will face No. 10 Hopkinton in the quarterfinal on Monday afternoon at Beaver Pond Field. The Panthers will be looking to secure a spot in their third Final Four in program history (all have come in the last five years).
