Walker Valley was blanked Wednesday night in the quarterfinal round of the state soccer tournament against Franklin. The Admirals showed no mercy as they put three past the Mustangs to advance.
Franklin entered the night the favorites and it showed from the kickoff. The Admirals dominated possession and dictated the game for its entirety.
Franklin played in a 4-4-2 diamond with a narrow midfield and two target strikers up front. Walker Valley countered with a 5-2-1-2, packing in defensively and looking to make life difficult up top for the Admirals.
Unfortunately, it was anything but for the home side. Franklin had its way with the five-man backline of Walker Valley making its 3v5 attacking situations look like the numerical advantage was slanted the other way.
The Mustangs offered very little in terms of attacking pressure. They hardly connected more than a few passes in the first half and were second to almost every ball. Despite coach Austin Waddell’s earnest pleas, the Mustangs failed to take advantage of the space on the wings afforded by Franklin’s narrow midfield structure.
The only bright spot for Walker Valley through the first forty was the standout play of goalie Madison Bischof who stood on her head a number of times to keep her side in the game.
Despite Bischof’s heroics, Franklin continued to press as Walker Valley epitomized the bend-but-don’t-break mentality. Much the better side both technically and tactically, it was only a matter of time before Franklin opened its account .
With three minutes left in the first half, that’s exactly what Franklin did. The Admirals sustained attack produced a corner. As the ball was played in, junior Siena Elder sprinted into the six-yard box, losing her marker along the way, before burying a wide-open header for 1-0.
Finally ahead, the Admirals could have taken a deep breath and slowed down but head coach Mike Burgoyne challenged his team to keep pushing and try to put the game away before the half. Much to their credit, Burgoyne’s players responded and found a second with under a minute left.
A quickly taken throw in caught the Mustangs sleeping and center attacking mid Ellen McDonough made them pay—driving to the top of the box before curling a shot in the top left corner just before time expired.
The second half became a game of match management for Burgoyne as he began to rotate out large portions of his team to keep legs fresh and protect his starters for the next round.
Walker Valley, needing to force the issue, began to open up in attack. Slowly growing into the game, the Mustangs started to find more sustained possession but never truly threatened Franklin beyond a few half chances.
The Admirals sealed Walker Valleys fate with four minutes left in the game. Winger Mia Hasan—whose battle with Walker Valley’s Macie Star proved to be the most entertaining game-within-the-game—finally got the better of her marker. After being frustrated all night, she quickly drifted across the field to find an unoccupied pocket of space. Receiving the ball, Hasan rocketed a shot into the far post corner from 35 yards out to give the final blow.
The loss brings to an end an impressive season for the Lady Mustangs, who finish the year with 16 wins, 4 losses, and a tie.
Match Summary:
Walker Valley 0 0 – 0
Franklin 2 1 – 3
Goal Scorers:
Franklin- Siena Elder, Ellen McDonough, Mia Hasan