WRENTHAM, Mass. - Coming off a draw against North Attleboro on Thursday, Franklin coach Tom Geysen was told that his team looked tired, so he added a day off for the players to rest and regroup.
The tactic had the right effect as the Panthers bounced back with one of their most complete games of the season to shutout King Philip 2-0 on Monday afternoon. Taylor Cogliano and Alexis Stowell provided the goals in the first half for Franklin.
“We did things today offensively that we haven’t been doing for several games,” said Geysen. “I thought we controlled the ball well for most of the game. Especially on this field, being able to control the ball shows the kids what they’re capable of doing when they’re playing well.”
KP coach Gary Pichel could only applaud his opponents for a solid performance. He said, “They’re just a classy team and they’re really well coached. He’s demanding but he should be because he has the horses to run with.”
Cogliano nearly gave Franklin the lead just two minutes into the game only to be stopped by sliding KP keeper Maggie Hall. Hall also saved a Cogliano header off a cross by Lindsey Mastaj and somehow got her right hand on a shot from Bailey Knous, who had been played in behind the defense by Victoria Stowell.
“Maggie I think had the best day of all of us,” said Pichel. “It easily could’ve been 3- or 4-0 after 20 minutes, if she didn’t make those saves. I had to show some faith in her [after a difficult start against Walpole] and she responded very well and I told her so after the game.”
“We’ve got to make sure that she stays up front,” said Geysen. “[Taylor] wants to come back in the midfield and at one point there was a switch that was made…and I told her to get back up front. She’s much more effective up top.”
Pichel added, “Taylor is just amazing. She’s got such quick bursts of speed that it’s really tough to cover her. I had her man marked in the first 30 minutes and she just blew it off like she wasn’t even being covered.”
Franklin doubled its lead in the 22nd minute. A long free kick was angled to the back post by Meghan Dieterle and Stowell raced past a pair of KP defenders to get on the end of it. She missed on her first attempt but was able to settle it on the second try and then slotted home to make it 2-0.
Franklin almost added a third just four minutes after halftime when Knous stole the ball from the outside back and raced in alone on goal. The junior smacked her shot off the crossbar and the rebound shot was saved.
The second half was dominated by the Panthers midfield and defense. KP only managed three shots on goal in the game and just one after the break -- a tame effort by Madison Whitney on a free kick.
“You hope sometimes for a crazy bounce or that they’ll trip and fall,” said Pichel with a laugh, “but the back four was excellent -- really strong and steady.”
Franklin senior Nicole Ellin praised her back line, which included Leah Benson, Dieterle, and Mastaj, for being able to deal with the rough conditions and not allow KP to build momentum.
She said, “They say that defense wins championships and the fact that we’re playing well together and have more to improve on…we’re able to get the ball out so that our forwards can score and we can hopefully have a something to nothing game.”
The Panthers had one last chance in the second half when Victoria Stowell found Emily Spath but Hall tipped the shot around the post. It was one of few chances that Franklin created despite having the lion’s share of the possession.
Pichel explained, “They were playing around the perimeter and then trying to get some through balls in, but they weren’t able to muster too many shots because our defense was there.”
The performance was more in line with what Franklin expects of itself.
Ellin said, “I thought against North Attleboro we didn’t really play our game and I think we really came out today, even though the field conditions were a little bouncy, we at least showed that we can play our game in conditions like this.”
Click HERE for a full photo gallery of the KP/Franklin game.
On Thursday, Franklin will travel to Milford, while KP will look to get back on track at Stoughton.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.