Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Key injury tests Franklin Regional

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, September 5, 2023 | 9:02 PM

Franklin Regional is adopting a next-girl-up mentality after losing a key starter to an injury.

Freshman defender Grace Copeland suffered a broken leg in a 1-0 win over Penn-Trafford last week. She is wearing a full leg cast and will miss the remainder of the season.

“It’s tough losing a player like Grace because she is versatile and can do a lot for us,” Panthers coach Scott Arnold said. “It hurts us at two positions, not just one.”

A couple of other minor injuries had Franklin Regional out of its usual offensive shape Saturday during the second Moe Rosentsteel Kickoff Classic at Norwin.

The Panthers were upset by Thomas Jefferson, 3-2.

“We’ll have to find a way to work around it,” Arnold said.

Franklin Regional did not give up three goals in a game all of last season. It didn’t allow a third goal until late September at Plum.

Pulling rank

There was not much movement for Westmoreland County teams in the rankings.

Latrobe stayed at No. 3 in the Trib Live HSSN Class 3A top five, while Franklin Regional dropped one spot to No. 5.

Mt. Pleasant remained No. 2 in Class 2A, while Greensburg Central Catholic did not budge at No. 3.

Plum (2-0) visits Latrobe (2-0) on Wednesday night.

Vikings tested early

Mt. Pleasant is 1-2 early on, with “quality” losses to a pair of good Class 3A teams in Penn-Trafford (1-0) and No. 1-ranked Moon (2-0).

The Vikings are not hitting the panic button, but it is interesting to note they did not sustain their second loss until last year’s WPIAL 2A championship game in early November.

Kendro coaching

Former Norwin standout Lexy Kendro has joined the coaching ranks.

A Division I midfielder who was a three-year starter at Duquesne before playing a graduate season at The Citadel, Kendro is leading the Mt. Pleasant junior high girls team.

She is a health and physical education teacher in the district.

Kendro played on Norwin’s 2017 PIAA championship team.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant