Franklin Regional girls smother Penn-Trafford

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | 10:57 PM

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Franklin Regional had eight players arrive late for Wednesday night’s warmups because of a National Honor Society event.

As a result, kickoff was delayed 10 minutes.

The Panthers probably didn’t need the extra time to loosen up. They looked ready from the start.

Junior Abby Paterline had the only goal as Franklin Regional scored, then possessed the ball the way it knows how to blank Penn-Trafford, 1-0, in a Section 3-3A girls soccer game at Warrior Stadium.

“We had four girls play 90 minutes against Montour Monday night, so I was concerned that we might be tired,” Franklin Regional coach Scott Arnold said.

“Based on the last time we played Penn-Trafford, I thought we had a good chance to beat them again tonight. Our girls worked hard again.”

Franklin Regional (7-3-1, 5-2) has only scored 20 goals this season, but sometimes one is all it needs. Especially when senior goalkeeper Aris Lamanna is on her game.

Lamanna made six saves in her sixth shutout of the season, none bigger than her fingertip stop to deny sophomore Hannah Weishaar with about 17 minutes to play.

Weishaar came set in a run-up and nearly beat Lamanna, a Coastal Carolina commit. But Lamanna made a diving swipe to her right. The ball ended up between the post and her hand, and the tenuous lead stayed at 1-0.

“It happened so fast,” Lamanna said of the shot that nearly tied it. “I saw it coming and sort of pushed it out, and it hit the post.

“It means a lot to us to beat Penn-Trafford twice. We had a lack of composure and tried to hit it long. We had to try to work more from the back and find multiple players through the middle. But P-T likes to man-mark our midfield.”

Franklin Regional, 1-2-1 in its last four games before Wednesday, also edged the Warriors, 1-0, earlier in the season with the first meeting going to overtime.

“We’re a team that likes to play defensive minded,” Lamanna said.

The Warriors (7-4, 4-4) have lost three of their last four.

“I loved our energy tonight; the girls didn’t get their heads down and they battled back,” Penn-Trafford coach Jimmy Mastrioanni said. “We had a lot of corner opportunities but couldn’t score off them. Credit to Aris. She made some great saves and kept us out of the back of the net.”

Paterline, who has been an offensive threat since moving to the top of the formation, scored her sixth goal in the 15th minute. She took a pass from sophomore Allyssa Velasquez from the wing and blasted a shot upper 90 past junior keeper Rease Solomon.

“Rease is an excellent keeper so you have to get a perfect shot against her,” Arnold said.

The Panthers leaned on their back line and Lamanna to preserve the lead from there, steadily defending for 65 minutes.

“It was a beautiful goal,” Arnold said. “We had a great view of it. When she hit it, I said it’s in.”

Penn-Trafford’s offense was much livelier this time against the Panthers as it produced eight shots to the visitors’ three. With 10 corner kicks, though, Mastrioanni was hoping for more.

“We have some injuries so we have (backups) playing up for us,” Mastrioanni said. “This was a great game. We fought to the end.”

Two key starters are lost for the season to injuries in juniors Alexis Brown and Jessica Gadagno, both knee injuries.

Lamanna made two saves in a row when the Warriors made a push late in the first half.

She knocked down freshman Aurelia Solomon’s shot, then stuffed the rebound.

Shot attempts were more limited in the second half for Penn-Trafford.

Franklin Regional also is down two starters for the rest of the season in freshman Grace Copeland (leg) and senior Leah Brockett (knee).

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford