The Franklin Area girls emphasize a smooth style of play and come into the playoffs on a winning streak

Franklin Regional might allow a goal or two, but there’s one thing the Panthers won’t do in a game: shut down.

Organized play is their bond.

“Our greatest strength, as always, is sticking together and playing together as a team, whether it be on offense, defense or transition,” fifth-year coach Scott Arnold said. “Our goal is to dominate the ball and enforce our style of play. We are confident that we can play anywhere on the pitch, including in the middle of the pitch or even in our own penalty area.”

The Panthers (12-5) will enter the WPIAL playoffs on a six-game winning streak, a stretch that shows their unique approach is working at the best of times. They finished 10-2 in Section 4-3A, two games behind Plum.

There is a method behind the madness of a team that limits its opponents to 19 goals.

By taking preventative measures, Arnold can keep his team as fresh as possible. He doesn’t want his players to overexert themselves or get into tackles.

By creating space on the field, the Panthers can spread out.

“Not only is this style a fun and effective way to play, we also strongly believe that this style is much healthier for the players as it reduces the number of tackles, collisions, aerial attacks, etc.,” Arnold said. “This is especially important in a compressed high school season with so many games and not enough recovery time in between.”

Arnold said his team’s style is based on a philosophy called “positional play,” in which players try to create numerical advantages in passing areas, creating a smooth offensive flow across the field.

For the concept to work, the players have to stick to their position and play it accordingly. Goals can be the end result of an assembly line.

Rotations and incisive movements in passing zones are simply crucial to generate attacks. The player who owns the ball is given multiple places to use it.

“You try to create different superiorities throughout the game,” Arnold said. “One of them is qualitative superiority. With Abby (Paterline), we want to create moments in which she can use her crucial qualities, such as her shooting and finishing as well as her ability to score with her head. She is also an excellent target player.”

Senior Eden Williams had 32 points (12 goals, 8 assists), a high for a player under Arnold’s leadership. She is one of three players with 20 or more points, along with seniors Paterline (22) and Reilly Weaver (21).

Aside from a long-term off-field injury, the Panthers have been mostly healthy all season.

The Panthers recently welcomed back junior forward Allyssa Velasquez, who suffered multiple facial fractures in a gym class accident in August.

She scored one goal in the regular season finale, a 7-0 win over West Mifflin.