WRENTHAM, Mass. – There was no precise measure of the amount of possession that Franklin enjoyed on Wednesday night at Macktaz Field, but it would be safe to say that when King Philip midfielder Matt Crago came forward and blasted an equalizing goal into the top corner it was against the run of play.
With the Panthers looking for a 10th win of the season and to earn head coach Fran Bositis the 500th win of his Hall of Fame career, Franklin wasted no time in responding. Less than a minute had gone off the clock when the Panthers played an in-swinging corner to the back post. Terry O’Neill, a four-year starter whose father Mike is the KP coach, rose highest and nodded a shot off the post and into the net.
Franklin would add two more goals in the final few minutes of play to come away with the 4-1 victory and help their coach reach the 500-win plateau at the second attempt.
“It’s just another win, honestly,” Bositis replied when asked about what the milestone meant to him. “From my perspective, it’s all about those kids there and everybody who came here and played before them and the coaches that we’ve had in the system to develop the players to move up to the varsity level.”
He continued, “It’s a credit to them and a credit to all the kids who’ve played in this program over the past 51 years. They’re the ones who earned it. They’re the ones who scored the goals or kept the goals from being scored and I didn’t do anything. It’s nice but it’s a credit to the kids, all of them.”
Bositis took over in 1971. It was only the second year of varsity soccer at Franklin High and he won only three games that season. In the 50 years since, Bositis has averaged 9.94 wins per season, a remarkable run of consistent success.
“You start doing the math and the consistent excellence he’s brought to the program,” said KP coach Mike O’Neill. “He’s so humble about it. We were talking before the game and I was congratulating him on it and the kinds of things he says you know he’s a terrific educator as well as a tremendously successful coach and I’m very happy for him.”
KP nearly pulled a shock in the opening minutes. John Pfeiffer curled a shot from outside the box that forced a diving, fingertip save from Griffen Tolonen. The ensuing corner was headed onto the post, but that would be the last chance for the Warriors until John MacEachen set up Stephen Griffin for a shot that went wide with three minutes left in the first half.
The bulk of the opening 40 minutes was played in the KP half and Connor O’Reilly was kept busy in the Warriors goal.
Jack Moran had a shot from inside the box blocked out for a corner in the ninth minute. His corner was flicked at the near post by Tyler Powderly (another four-year varsity player) but KP managed to clear it off the line. In the 17th minute, Jacob Crisileo slid a pass to Max Tobin, whose low shot forced O’Reilly into a good stop.
Eight minutes later, the pair reversed roles with Tobin feeding Crisileo for a chance that went wide. Hansy Jacques then forced a turnover with his pressure high up the pitch and curled a shot on target that O’Reilly held.
The game was tied at half and the Panthers stormed out of the break intent on finding a deserved lead. Trey Lovell had a shot turned around the post by O’Reilly and then the KP keeper was able to make a diving save to deny O’Neill after a quick turn and shot from inside the box.
Five minutes into the second half, the deadlock was finally broken. After a good advantage played by the official, Sean O’Leary forced O’Reilly into another full-stretch stop, but the rebound landed right at the foot of Lovell for a tap in at the back post.
It could have gotten worse for the Warriors but their keeper was standing tall. He tipped a close-range header by Rex Cinelli onto the post and out, stopped a breakaway by Moran when one of his defenders missed his kick, and then robbed Cinelli again on a low free kick, stopping the initial shot and then backpedalling to tip the loose ball over the bar.
O’Neill said of his keeper, “I was joking with him, asking if he was tipping the ball so it would bang off the post and the crossbar on purpose just for dramatic effect. He was terrific and played with a ton of courage.”
Those saves proved to be critical, as KP finally got a chance to push into the attacking third in the 62nd minute. Crago let fly from 20 yards and arrowed his shot past the dive of Tolonen and into the upper 90.
Bositis said, “That’s what we tried to tell the kids at halftime. You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities you’re creating and you’ve got to finish some of them because at 1-0 you’ve got to get that next goal. We were lucky that they got it but we bounced right back.”
Only a minute later, order was restored for the Panthers. Noah Cain’s corner was swung into the box and O’Neill rose above everyone to nod home off the post and restore Franklin’s advantage.
When asked about one of his two sons on the Panthers (Andrew is a sophomore defender) finding the winning goal on a set piece, O’Neill joked, “I’m going to be so glad when that kid graduates.” He added, “It was a terrific goal. He’s so dangerous on that and it’s something he does himself. He has always headed the ball with a tremendous amount of desire and I’m very, very proud of him.”
Looking to put the game away, Moran headed a free kick off the bar in the 75th minute. The Panthers would seal the win with a pair of goals inside the final five minutes. Powderly got a slight touch on Moran’s low corner, directing it inside the far post to make it 3-1. With nearly the final kick of the match, Powderly then squared the ball across the six to O’Leary for a tap in.
“Since we were 1-3, we’ve played really well,” Bositis said about his team’s recent form. Franklin has lost only once in the last 14 matches. “These kids, they can play. They play really good soccer. Now that we’re in, I think they can do something in the tournament.”
Franklin (10-4-4) finished the regular season one point behind league champ Milford and will await its playoff seeding. King Philip (3-12-2) closes out its season at Bridgewater-Raynham on Friday.