Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Mauriana Dorsch

By: Anthony Difilippo
Monday, February 6, 2023 | 1:29 PM

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Franklin Regional’s girls soccer team went 11-6-2 overall, 7-4-1 in section play this past season and made it to the WPIAL quarterfinals before falling 1-0 to Mars.

Low-scoring games were a big part of the story for this year’s Panthers squad.

In 18 games, they allowed 11 goals, and all 11 wins they had were shutouts.

A big part of that defensive success was senior winger and fullback Mauriana Dorsch.

Dorsch took pride in the defensive success Franklin Regional had this season.

“I believe the secret to our success in defending was how well we move and work together,” Dorsch said. “We are very patient and cover each other really well, and we were very lucky to have such skilled defenders.”

Elite defense is nothing new to the Panthers.

In Dorsch’s junior year, the team allowed 14 goals and in her sophomore year, just six goals were scored against.

Coach Scott Arnold took over in 2020, and it’s fair to say the team adapted quickly.

Dorsch spoke of how fast they were able to learn the system that came with a new coach.

“As we adapted, we played really well as a team and continued to improve as (sophomore) season went on,” Dorsch said.

“(Junior year), we were all familiar with how one another played under his coaching style.”

In June, Dorsch committed to play Division II soccer for Tiffin.

“I really liked Tiffin University for the welcoming environment and the personal feel to the campus,” Dorsch said.

On top of soccer, Dorsch was on the track team until 2021, when she almost broke the school record for the 300 meter hurdles.

Dorsch plans on going into Tiffin’s nursing program and aspires to become a travel nurse. Eventually, she would like to be a psychiatric nurse.

With her senior season is over, Mauriana Dorsch took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with soccer?

I got started with soccer through MASA when I was 4 years old. I wanted to play because my sister played soccer as well.

As a defender, what’s the college recruiting process like?

Being a defender in the college recruitment process is definitely different than being an offensive player. I was lucky to have coaches interested in me for the skills I have and show like my speed, defensive ability and ability to join the offense as a fullback. Knowing I have these skills, I made sure to put them into my highlight video to help me stick out as a player. It’s important to pick out the skills that make you unique when putting together your highlight video for college recruitment.

What drew you to Tiffin’s soccer program?

They have really good athletic facilities, which I’m very excited to use. The thing that I really liked was the soccer coach because of how much he cares about his players and for his coaching style.

In college soccer, I expect to improve my skills and be a part of a great, growing team. As a newer coach, he wants to help the team grow as players and help us to succeed, which I am very excited to be a part of.

How’d you get into track?

I got into track in middle school because I had a passion for running, and it really helped me to stay in shape for soccer. I really wanted to be a hurdler, so I took my opportunity and I’m very glad I did because it became my favorite event to do by far.

What is one thing that people may not know about you?

Something many people do not know about me is that I used to be a competitive figure skater. I started at 2 years old and continued to skate until the fourth grade. In my final year of figure skating, I qualified for nationals for solo ice dancing and finished in 11th place.

Tags: Franklin Regional