Freshman Zoe Bell threw the soccer ball in bounds, watched it ping around a few times, then punished it with her right foot.
She made sure there was no tie this time.
Bell buried a shot into the back of the net with a swift, 30-yard strike in the 44th minute. Her go-ahead goal helped fourth-ranked Penn-Trafford rally past Franklin Regional, 2-1, in a Section 4-3A game on Monday night at Warrior Stadium.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the section opener Aug. 31.
“I hit it perfect, and I knew the ball had good spin to it,” Bell said. “We’ve been put in a lot of positions where we’ve had to come back to win. We found our feet.”
Section-leading Penn-Trafford (6-1-3, 5-0-2) moved to 3-0-2 at home this season as senior Kylee McClintock also had a goal on an assist from senior Lauryn Francis, an equalizer late in the first half.
Frankin Regional (3-4-1, 3-3-1), which has lost four of five games — each by one goal — had momentum early and controlled play in the first half.
Penn-Trafford struggled to clear the ball in the 26th minute, and the Panthers pounced as sophomore Reese Regelski scored in close to get the Panthers on the board first.
“They play that four back (line), and it took us a little while to get used to it,” Penn-Trafford coach Jimmy Mastroianni said. “Our energy was low, and we started really slow. We played a better second half but overall, tonight wasn’t our best.”
The Warriors won without standout sophomore Ellie Lebe scoring a goal. She was limited to one shot with senior back-liner Grace Copeland defending.
Lebe had the tying goal in the 77th minute in the first meeting, literally seconds after Regelski scored for the Panthers.
The Warriors’ latest win left much to be desired from their coach.
“I don’t think we played as a team tonight,” Mastroianni said. “Our communication needed to be better. I don’t want us to play any more soccer tennis (back and forth).”
The Panthers started a new goalkeeper in sophomore Sofia Ramirez. She replaced junior Alaina McGrath, who sat out with leg soreness.
Still, the Panthers managed six shots to Penn-Trafford’s four but could not generate offense in the second half.
Franklin Regional coach Scott Arnold said he was hoping his team would get a second goal before Penn-Trafford got its first.
“I have never seen something like this,” Arnold said. “We played well tonight, we’re playing well (overall) but that is four one-goal losses. That first half was one of the best first halves of soccer I have seen.
“(The second half) was a combination of situation and a little fatigue. They were raising a little more pressure, so we had to be patient.”
McClintock’s goal, Arnold said, was a game-changer because it not only reset the score but gave the Warriors new hope.
“That was a very unfortunate goal,” Arnold said. “It changed everything.”
Said Mastroianni: “It was huge.”
Francis created the scoring chance when she dribbled wide and crossed the ball in front. McClintock was there to touch it into the twine.
Bell’s laser shot for the Warriors’ second goal would have gone in against a lot of teams, good or bad.
“We did enough to come away with the win,” Mastroianni said.
Senior keeper Natalie Broadwater had fives saves for Penn-Trafford, which has outscored its section opponents 31-6.