Last year, Franklin Regional’s boys soccer team finished 12-9 overall, which included a trip to the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals.
That wasn’t good enough for the Panthers.
This year, they finished 14-4-2 overall, including an 8-2 record in Section 3-3A, and reached the WPIAL championship game.
“I thought we had an amazing regular season,” senior midfielder Tyler Pipon said. “We played completely new guys last year, and I think we really got used to them and really connected as a team. This is the year where we really put it all together.”
Pipon was a key part of a Franklin Regional defense that allowed only five goals against section opponents all season.
That regular-season effort gave the Panthers confidence as they navigated from the seventh seed all the way to the WPIAL final.
“It was a difficult road, but I really had no doubts,” Pipon said. “The way that we talked, the way that we played together and just even hanging out outside of soccer, you could tell that we all really wanted this, and we all knew we could do it.”
Their WPIAL journey ended with a runner-up finish to top-seeded Moon, which defeated Franklin Regional, 3-1.
The Tigers had waited a year to face a Franklin Regional team that knocked them out of the playoffs in overtime last year.
It was Pipon’s marker in the extra period that delivered the final blow.
“I’m not much of a scorer on the team,” Pipon said. “And whenever that happened, especially in a game like that, it was just such a crazy feeling to know that I was kind of the one to get us to the semifinal game.”
The Panthers ended this season with a 6-0 win over Bellefonte in the first round of the PIAA playoffs followed by a 2-0 loss to Conrad Weiser in quarterfinals.
Pipon is planning on attending Pitt, has not chosen his major yet and hopes to continue playing soccer, potentially at the club level.
This week, he took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:
How did you get started with soccer?
My sister played. I would play for my travel team. I used to live in Plum, so I would play for Plum. I love that team. It was my first team. And it was a great spot to start because I had great coaches there. It’s a great experience.
What does coach Nick White bring to the table, being your third coach in four years?
Coach White, he is an amazing coach with the way that he really gets involved with the team. You can tell that he really takes everything we do to heart, and this is something he really enjoys doing, coaching. We watch film almost every time before a game, which we’ve never done in the past before. It shows his level of commitment he has to the team.
You’ve had the opportunity to play with two all-WPIAL players in Joey Bayne and Danny Christafano, who contribute a lot offensively. What was that like?
I love it. It makes it so much easier to play. Guys on the wing like Joey and Danny, who love to score, it makes the game a lot easier for me and the rest of the team.”
As a senior, what did your leadership role look like this year?
I really like to get the motivation up on the team. I love to get the guys going and realize that we have to win. This is something that we need to do. And I also just like being friendly to them and making sure that they know that we’re all friends here, and we all support each other.
What is one thing that people may not know about you?
I like to make music, like songs. It’s just like a personal thing. I don’t really, I don’t post it a lot, but messing around with some synthesizers and guitars and drums.