Franklin Regional boys soccer notebook: Red card keeps key player out of WPIAL final

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 31, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Franklin Regional will be without one of its top players in Saturday’s WPIAL 3A championship game.

Senior all-WPIAL midfielder Jovan Sankoorikal will miss his second consecutive playoff game as he sits through a two-game suspension, the result of a red card violation in a quarterfinal upset of Thomas Jefferson.

“We didn’t have him for the semifinal,” coach Nick White said. “He does a lot for us. We had to replace him by committee.”

Sankoorikal has 11 goals and 11 assists for the Panthers (14-3-2).

Junior Fabrizzio Costa, sophomore Rory Bayne and senior Tyler Pipon played increased roles in his absence.

Been there before

White might be in his first year with the Panthers, but this won’t be his first WPIAL title game.

White was an assistant at Fox Chapel for 10 years. In 2015, the Foxes reached the 3A championship and lost to Canon-McMillan, 2-1 in overtime.

Double dip

Franklin Regional senior Joey Bayne will play back-to-back playoff games.

Before he takes the field Saturday, he will kick for the Panthers football team Friday night when they travel to North Hills.

Moon shots

Moon’s high-powered offense has produced six players with nine or more goals.

Aedan Costa has 21, Evan Thomas is next with 18, Zech Balbach had 15, Marc Haupt 12, and Hayden Dunn and Fin Dengel nine each.

Costa also leads in assists with 17. Balbach has 14, Dengel 11, and Haupt 10.

County titles

Franklin Regional will be going for its third WPIAL title in boys soccer and first since 2019.

The last Westmoreland boys team to win a championship was Norwin last season. Before that, it was Greensburg Central Catholic in 2020.

GCC has the most local titles with five.

He said it

“We have guys who are just as excited to assist on a goal as they are to score one.” — White

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Moon