Wed Feb 08 2012
Quality defeated quantity Tuesday night on a rain-soaked Sower Soccer Field as Frankfort fell to Brown 5-3 despite getting twice as many shots at the goal.
The Panthers controlled the ball for much of the game on Senior Night, launching 20 shots at keeper Tristan Conroy, but only scoring on three. The Bears, however, made the most of their scoring opportunities, putting in five goals on 10 shots.
FHS assistant coach Adam Saunderson said the Panthers' shot selection didn't put enough pressure on the Brown defense.
"We had the bulk of the possession and obviously most of the shots, but we couldn't get shots to test the keeper," Saunderson said.
"We've got to take true shots instead of shots 30 or 40 yards away," added FHS head coach Sherrill Smith.
The Panthers kept pace with the Bears for much of the first half.
Brown forward William Sanders opened the scoring five minutes into the game on a shot that rippled the right side of the net. Frankfort countered quickly, however, on a centered ball by Andrew Grider that Andrew LeMay put past Conroy at the 31:27 mark to tie the game 1-1.
The tie would be short-lived as William Ashby's shot bounced off the left post and into the goal less than 30 seconds later to give the advantage back to the Bears 2-1. LeMay answered again at the 22:32 mark to tie the score at 2-2, but Frankfort couldn't take the lead and gave up another goal to Sanders before halftime.
"They had two fast strikers who made the most of their opportunities to score," Saunderson said.
Though the Panthers had nearly three times as many shots as the Bears in the second half, they were outscored 2-0 in the second 40 minutes of play. Frankfort's best opportunity to pull within a score came in the 18th minute on a shot by LeMay that was just wide of the goal.
In their last game of the regular season, the Panthers recognized their 10 seniors at halftime.
"The seniors played hard and would have liked to win tonight," Saunderson said after the game. "A lot of the seniors have been with me for a long time and I've seen them not only develop into good soccer players, but good people. Several seniors just picked up the sport this year and have improved vastly this season."
Smith echoed Saunderson's sentiments.
"This is a great group of quality kids," he said. "They've played hard and that means more than wins and losses."
The Panthers season is far from over, however, as they face Franklin County in the district tournament next Tuesday. Frankfort lost 3-1 in the teams' first meeting in August in the Capital City Classic.
Saunderson said the Panthers will have to be on top of their game to pull out a win.
"(Franklin County) played some quality opponents and had some good results. I know it's going to be a challenge for us," he said.
"We're hoping to do the things well against them that we did the first time and get some shots in the net."
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