2012-10-03 The Brentwood Home Page

Raptors Fall to District Champion Rebels; Franklin Stays Unbeaten To Clinch District 11-AAA Title

by Carol Stuart/Peg Fredi

Franklin's girls soccer team is accustomed to being in this spot. The defending state champion Lady Rebels extended their unbeaten streak to 40 games and clinched the regular-season District 11-AAA championship with a 4-0 shutout of visiting Ravenwood on Thursday night.

Senior Lyndie Donegan scored two goals for Franklin (14-0-2, 3-0), which also punched its ticket to the regional round due to a district rule that allows the regular-season champ to automatically advance.

"It's just the program. These girls feed off from year to the next," FHS Coach Jimmy Burchett said. "They just generate energy. When it gets to a game like this, I don't have to say a lot.

"It's not in-born with them, but it is handed down. It's a heritage thing -- it's handed down from one team to the next. We've got speed, we knew we had speed, and I think it was the speed issue as much as anything. But our work ethic was incredible that first half."

Franklin jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes on goals by Jill White and Donegan.

Ravenwood goalie Lindsey Todd made six saves, stopping a big shot 4 1/2 minutes to go before halftime. She also had back-to-back saves with 11 1/2 minutes remaining in the game -- one on a diving stop and then a shot after the ensuing corner kick.

"They had a great game, we had a poor game," Ravenwood Coach Ken White said. "Our game plan wasn't executed, and the things we worked on didn't happen for us. It's good to get this game -- hopefully we're see them again in two weeks."

The Lady Raptors, finishing district play at 2-2 including an overtime loss to Brentwood last week, will face the Bruins in the 11-AAA tournament semifinals Monday, Oct. 15, at Ravenwood's field. RHS plays its final regular-season game at home 7 p.m. next Thursday against Brentwood Academy.

White, a defender scoring only her third goal of the year counting preseason, blasted in a long shot on an assist by UAB commit Morgan Adams in just the sixth minute.

The Rebels went up 2-0 in the 12th minute when Donegan took a deflected ball, steered through traffic and sent the ball over the keeper.

Junior Liza Harbin made it a three-goal lead just 16.6 seconds before halftime when she played through, maneuvered around defenders and broke away for a score.

Josie Deere's cross just 5 1/2 minutes after intermission set up Donegan's second goal.

FHS shutout goalkeeper Emily Burchfield, joining Donegan and Adams as the team's only seniors, had one save the field half and no shots on goal against her the last 40 minutes. She did come out for a sliding attempt by Ravenwood's Andi Williams in the 75th minute.

Burchett said he knew his offense would be strong this season, but the Lady Rebels lacked experience in the back with four new defensive starters. Franklin, which has the most TSSAA state girls soccer titles with 11, has only yielded one goal by its opponents the last four games.

Donegan, a Lipscomb commit, is one of only three seniors this season for the team that went 24-0 last fall to win the Class AAA state title.

"A lot of people doubted us since we lost so many seniors, but I think we've definitely proved them wrong this year," she said.

Franklin hosts Siegel in a 3 p.m. Sunday game and final district foe Centennial at 7 p.m. Thursday, both at its home field at adjacent Cheek Park. The Rebels will play in the 11-AAA semifinals against the winner of fourth and fifth seeds Centennial and Independence in a Saturday, Oct. 13, tourney opener.

2012-10-03 The Franklin Home Page

State Champs FHS Visit Indy

by Jennifer Roberts

Franklin 5, Independence 0: Independence hosted defending state champions in District 11-AAA soccer and played tough on Tuesday night before falling to unbeaten Franklin 5-1.

The Lady Rebels led only 1-0 at halftime before breaking away with four second-half goals to improve to 2-0 in the district.

Meredith Slessman scored a hat trick with three goals, while Liza Harbin netted the other two goals. Josie Deere and Callie McKinney had assists.

Independence's goal came from Ashley Weathers.

Franklin, which hasn't lost since the 2010 playoffs, hosts Ravenwood at 7 p.m. Thursday night. A win by RHS would force a three-way tie atop the district, while an FHS victory would clinch the regular-season title for the Rebels.

2012-09-19 The Franklin Home Page

Lady Rebels Beat Brentwood High School 3-1

by Larry Walsh

The defending state champion Franklin Lady Rebels soccer team's unbeaten streak stretched to 35 tonight when they defeated the Lady Bruins (4-1-1) on their home turf 3-1. The FHS season record stands at 10-0-1.

Franklin got down 1-0 before tying it up on Rachael Frey's goal. The Lady Bruins senior forward Lena Nash scored first with a shot from the 18 that cruised in just under the crossbar halfway through the first half. But the Lady Rebels kept senior Bruin goalie, Kat Lee, very busy the rest of the game.

Franklin’s Rachel Frey found the back of the net from the right side placing it in to the back left corner of the net with 14 minutes left in the half, tying it up where it remained at halftime.

“We played smart and possessed the ball the way we wanted,” said FHS head coach Jimmy Burchett. “Defensively we played well. The patience of the defense was the key.”

Burchett went on to say being able to hold senior forward Meg Howard and junior Mary Stewart Schwarz was part of the plan. The Bruins were held to one shot the entire first half but were able to get off six shots in the second half. Howard and Nash both had close calls with headers in the second half.

The Lady Rebels' second goal was delivered by forward Hope Van Ryckeghem 14 minutes in to the second half. Liza Harbin caught the Bruin defense off guard putting the final ball in the net for FHS at the 7:50 mark.

With a total of 13 shots on goal, the Lady Rebels nearly doubled the Bruins, giving Lee the opportunity to have seven saves and many near misses.

“We knew coming in it would be a tight game and whoever took advantage of those opportunities would walk away with it,” said BHS head coach Cal Long. “I was proud of the team. They played hard for a solid 80 minutes. We really wanted this one.”

The Lady Rebels take on Independence and Ravenwood in their next two district games.

“Those teams attack a little differently so it will be a different game plan,” Burchett said.

2012-09-12 The Franklin Home Page

Roundup: FHS Soccer Stays Unbeaten

Franklin 3, Oakland 1: Defending state champion Franklin (6-0-1) pulled away from a 1-0 halftime lead to extend its unbeaten string to 31 games.

Callie McKinney got the Lady Rebels on the board on an assist from Josie Deere 5:23 before intermission.

Meredith Slessman pushed it to 2-0 with 38:25 remaining in the game, and Liza Harbin scored her sixth goal of the season with just over 26 minutes left. Oakland's Kaitlin Murphy broke up the shutout with 24:54 on the clock.

Keeper Emily Burchfield had one save for FHS, while Oakland goalie Emma Goldman saved five shots. The Lady Patriots only had six total shots, and only two on goal.

2012-09-04 The Franklin Home Page

Lady Rebels Soccer Team Remains Unbeaten

Franklin High School’s defending state champion Lady Rebels soccer team stormed back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat Houston 4-3, one day after a draw with St. Agnes.

Midfielder Liza Harbin scored two of the second-half goals as FHS outscored Houston 4-1 in the final 40 minutes of Monday’s game in the Hendersonville Classic.

Lyndie Donegan assisted on Harbin’s first goal, and then Meredith Slessman set up Hope Vanryckeghem’s score. Harbin and Josie Deere then added two more goals for the victory.

Houston, from Germantown, had scored in the first half on two direct kicks after Franklin fouls.

Jesse Harvey made two first-half saves for the Lady Rebels, and Morgan Langham saved a shot in the final half.

Franklin 3, St. Agnes 3, tie: St. Agnes scored all three goals in the second half Sunday to earn a tie in the Hendersonville Classic with the undefeated Lady Rebels, who haven’t lost since 2010.

Harbin scored an unassisted goal for 1-0 halftime lead for Franklin, while Lyndie Donegan had a goal and assist in the second half. VanRyckeghem had the other score, while Morgan Adams assisted on Donegan’s goal.

Harvey had two saves and Langham four while splitting keeper duties.

2012-08-23 The Franklin Home Page

Roundup: Lady Rebels Wins Soccer Opener

The Franklin High School girls soccer team opened defense of its Class AAA state championship with an 8-0 romp over Riverdale.

Lyndie Donegan and Hope Van Ryckeghem scored two goals apiece on Wednesday for the Lady Rebels, who won their 25th game in a row.

FHS took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Ryckeghem added an assist, and Meredith Slessman had a score and assisted on another goal.

Morgan Adams, Hannah Hewett and Rachel Frey also found the net, while Jill White recorded an assist.

Franklin keeper Jessica Harvey made two saves in the shutout, while Riverdale’s Kristin Fuller stopped one shot on goal.

2012-08-14 The Franklin Home Page

Girls Soccer Outlook 2012: Franklin Defends State Title

by Andrew Skwara

Girls soccer may not get the attention of some of the bigger sports, but when it comes to the Franklin-area schools maybe it should.

Perennial power Franklin High captured the Class AAA state title last season on its way to putting together a perfect 24-0 record. But longtime coach Jimmy Burchett says just getting past many of the teams in its own District 11-AAA was the Lady Rebels' toughest challenge.

"Just to get out of the district here is an accomplishment," Burchett said. "I think the other coaches across the state would agree that this is the toughest district in the state. All across the board the teams are pretty impressive. Centennial and Independence are always strong and they have good teams coming back again."

Could Centennial or Independence be strong enough to knock off Franklin this year? Are the Rebels strong enough to contend for another state title?

Division II's state semifinalist Battle Ground Academy and Class A/AA's defending region champ Page also have programs with plenty of strong tradition. We examine the above questions and what to look for out of all five area teams below in this preview:

The amount of experience and production the Lady Rebels are faced with replacing is staggering. Seven starters are gone from their perfect run last season, including star Chesney White.

White poured in a remarkable 43 goals for the Lady Rebels in 2011 and helped Brentwood Soccer Club make it second straight national final before heading on to UNC-Greensboro.

Morgan Adams (16) and Lyndie Donegan are top returning scorers for the Lady Rebels. But, that doesn’t mean Burchett isn’t left with some talented weapons to utilize.

Senior midfielder Morgan Adams (12 goals, 16 assists) and senior forward Lyndie Donegan (13 goals, 16 assists) are back. So is senior goalkeeper Emily Burchfield, who posted 13 shutouts in 2011.

"Lyndie gets a lot of pleasure in making the other players around her better. She’d rather get an assist than a goal," said Burchett, who enters his 16th season at the helm of the storied program. "Morgan is tenacious and has a lot of vision. She works to set other players up and is really an all-around player."

The biggest key for the Lady Rebels will be developing a strong defense in front of Burchfield. All four starters on the back line graduated. But, as usual, Burchett has an influx of young talent that is already showing promise.

"I think we have a good group of freshmen coming in, it’s just a matter of how quickly they can adjust to playing against juniors and seniors," Burchett said. "Winning (a state title) is always our goal, but, logistically, I’m not sure that’s possible with this many young players. We are talented and I think we will be in the mix though."