Jaguars overcome slow start to beat F-R

Cece Wessel, Sami Maglicco and Olivia Della Lucia each scored in TJ’s 3-1 win.

After a successful 2023 season and raised expectations for this fall, the Thomas Jefferson girls’ soccer team was just happy to kick off the season.

The Jaguars got off to a slow start and faced a 1-0 deficit, but the veteran group kept their composure and controlled the middle of the field for the remainder of the game for a 3-1 triumph over Franklin Regional Saturday at the Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic.

“We had to be more assertive in the middle,” TJ coach Sean Richter said. “We started the game a little passive and it took us awhile to get into this one. Once we locked that down, we controlled the game. Franklin Regional is always a solid team, so you can’t let them outwork you. During our breaks, our message was to continue to work and to continue to fight for possession.”

The Jaguars (1-0) have plenty of experience and depth with eight seniors on the squad.

“We had to remember how we play and to keep the middle tight,” senior Olivia Della Lucia said. “We lost some players from last year, so we just had to work around all those adjustments. I’m glad to start the season off with a win. It was a promising start for us.”

After the squads exchanged scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes, the Panthers picked up the opening goal when Eden Williams punted a shot attempt from 25 yards out that went just above the arms of TJ keeper Nyla Kiral at the 22:45 mark of the first half.

The Jaguars quickly responded as Della Lucia took a free kick from 32-yards out and was able to nail the shot for TJ to knot things up at 1-1 with 20:32 left.

“It was a free kick, and either me or Sami was going to take it,” Della Lucia said. “I wanted to flow it high and make it tough for the keeper. At first, I thought it was too high and was going to go over the crossbar. It was a good comeback for our team and that pumped us up for the rest of the game.”

Della Lucia, who committed to Seton Hill University, mentions that the Jaguars overall experience and depth will be huge for them in a difficult section this season.

“We have a lot of players that can play a lot of different positions,” she pointed out. “Teams can’t focus on one player. We are keeping it one game at a time, but our goals are pretty high this season. We want to win the section and make it further in the playoffs. We have to manage the season and we have to continue to play at a high level.”

TJ’s Aubrey Little had a quality scoring chance down the left sideline, but the shot was corralled by F-R keeper Addie Ayres to keep the game deadlock at 1-1.

The Panthers had a nice opportunity to break the tie on a breakaway, but Kiral was able to get a hand on the ball after a diving attempt to keep it out of the back of the net.

With under a minute left in the first half, Sami Maglicco wiggled into position in front of the net and got a leg on a pass for a goal that gave the Jaguars all of the momentum right before halftime with a 2-1 lead.

“There was a minute left and I definitely wanted to get a late goal for us,” Maglicco said. “I could tell their defenders were getting tired. That led to the lack of clearance and I saw the gap. I was able to run behind it and the ball came right to me.”

In the second half, FR thought they tied the game off a corner kick from Reese Phillips went in front of the net and deflected in, but the goal was immediately waived off because of keeper interference.

Four minutes later, TJ made it 3-1 when Maglicco broke down the sidelines and got a shot off, but Ayres made a kick save. The rebound went directly to Cece Wessel and she didn’t hesitate to bury a shot into the net with 31:14 left in regulation.

“We have a heavy, non-section schedule,” Richter said. “So obviously, to start the season at 1-0 is huge against such a good opponent. That tough, non-section schedule will only help us at the end of the day. They will be very competitive games, almost a playoff-feel to them. Our goal is to increase our work rate and to improve every single game.”

Kiral finished with four saves for the Jaguars.

“Nyla is only a sophomore and only saw a couple of varsity minutes last season,” Richter said. “It’s big for her confidence to get a win against a team like Franklin. She got better as the game went along and you could just tell her confidence grew so much just in this one game.”

The Jaguars has a quick turnaround when they travel to South Park Sunday against Upper St. Clair in the South Hills Classic.

“Once we made the adjustments and came together, I believe we can compete against anybody,” Maglicco said. “This is a great group of girls and we are excited for the season. Expectations are high, and we are OK with that.”