Norwin boys soccer shuts out Franklin Regional to open season

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, August 24, 2024 | 5:05 PM

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Norwin continues to row in the right direction.

After senior forward Daniel Maddock scored the boys soccer team’s first goal of the season, several Knights plopped their backsides on the ground along the sideline, lined up like they were sitting in a boat, and began to row in unison for a few seconds.

“We did it in practice just joking around within the team,” Maddock said. “We said it would be funny to do it in a game. When I scored, we just kind of did it.”

Maddock added a second impromptu celebration with a backflip after his second goal as Norwin blanked Franklin Regional, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at Norwin Knights Stadium.

“Adrenaline kind of took over,” Maddock said. “I don’t know what I would have done (for a third goal).”

Both goals for defending WPIAL 4A champion Norwin (1-0) came in the second half of the season opener after Class 3A Franklin Regional (0-1) tilted the field in the first 40 minutes.

Norwin is ranked No. 1 in 4A, Franklin Regional is No. 2 in 3A.

Norwin coach Scott Schuchert is all for the goal celebrations, as long as they are not derogatory toward opponents.

“That’s from the English Premier League,” Schuchert said. “I loved it. Every goal we score is like a World Cup goal to us.”

Franklin Regional outshot Norwin, 9-5, with Knights’ first-year senior goalkeeper Ryan Dooen making seven saves.

“I hope I can fill half the shoes of Anthony (Scalise),” Dooen said of last year’s standout goalie who graduated. “Today showed that we have a strong defensive core, from Daniel to the back four.”

After limited opportunities in the first half, Norwin finally found some spacing, with Maddock pulling ahead on a breakaway for a goal in the 55th minute.

Dooen sent in a long ball, Maddock took possession and ended up one-on-one with Panthers’ senior keeper Noah Walker, beating him left.

Franklin Regional had to shuffle after a yellow card on Walker, who made inadvertent upper-body contact with a Norwin player, and went to its backup goalie, junior Emerson Bush.

The second goal immediately followed, and it came on a rebound. Sophomore Ryan Schoemer sent in a free kick, and Maddock, who crashed the net, bumped in the deflection to make it 2-0.

“I was really happy with our effort, for the most part,” Franklin Regional first-year coach Nick White said. “In the first half, we were really good, other than the final third, the last bit of play. This team needs to grow in the way it responds to adversity.”

Maddock said Norwin showed far from its best effort, but the win is the best takeaway from the opener.

Senior defender Dylan Moyer sat for nearly half the game with an ankle injury but returned in the second half.

Still, Norwin kept Panthers senior shooters Joey Bayne and Danny Christafano in check, limiting their chances.

“In the first game, you’re never as good as you want to be,” Schuchert said. “We had a better second half. Franklin Regional is awesome. They do a lot of things really well.”

White, a former Fox Chapel assistant, was impressed with Norwin.

“Coach Schuchert, what he does … He runs a top-of-the-line program,” White said. “They are going to have a great season. We wanted to play the best.”

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Norwin