Jill Kyhn has always had a plan in place for her Franklin girls lacrosse team since launching the program four years ago.
She wanted to put the Sabers in position to win a state title, which tonight’s 9-4 victory over Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood definitely accomplished.
She also wanted to develop a strong youth feeder program for the high school squad, and the pipeline of talent flowing into the Sabers varsity team has proven successful.
Kyhn also had an exit strategy in place, knowing the program would flourish under the watchful eye of a former player ready join the coaching ranks. This final part of the plan was revealed after Franklin’s win over the Wolfpack when Kyhn acknowledged she would step down at the end of the season. Current assistant coach Julianna Schearer will take over as head coach for the 2019 season.
“This is my last senior night, so it was a bittersweet night,” Kyhn said. “You get to the point where they need that former player’s insight. When we brought Jules on this year, that was the next step.
“I also have a daughter who is going to be a senior that hasn’t seen me for the last five springs,” Kyhn added.
It wasn’t exactly clear from the start that Franklin (12-4, 11-2 Classic 8 Conference) would send the program’s founder and the class of 2018 off with a win. A defensive struggle ensued for nearly the entire first half, but senior middie Cassie Allard broke the drought with a goal with 5 minutes, 46 seconds left before intermission.
She would score again with 2:25 to play in the first half. That goal started 5-0 run for the Sabers that would give them the lead for good. Allard finished a game-high three goals.
“I thought we really executed on both offense and defense, and we really played as a team,” Allard said. “That’s what made us come out on top.”
Although they typically rely on a man-to-man defensive scheme, the Sabers switched to a zone-backer defense to disrupt WNS (12-3, 10-2). The strategy worked as Franklin held the Wolfpack to their lowest scoring output of the season. (WNS also scored four goals in a non-conference loss earlier this season.)
“It was pretty compact in there, and we got a lot of sticks on passes,” Kyhn said. “When we got those knockdowns, we got the ground balls, as well.”
Senior middie Allie Marion closed out her Franklin career with two goals. Sophomore middie Lauren Flemma scored two of the Wolfpack’s four goals.
This game concluded the regular season for Franklin and WNS. They await their seedings for the state tournament, which will be announced Friday. The tournament begins next week.
Each week WisconsinLacrosse.com will highlight a select game from around the State of Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Home Instead Senior Care
