PINE GROVE, Pa. — It’s not every year a soccer player is able to accomplish something as big as scoring 100 career goals. It’s also not every year a player makes it onto the school’s all-time points list. Pine grove Area (PGA) senior, Nate Frankenfield, accomplished both of those things in one match, scoring the only two goals in the Cardinals 2-0 win over the Lourdes Raiders.
“It's a huge accomplishment,” said Frankenfield. “I'm super grateful to be part of the, you know, school’s top 100 list. Having my name on there is great. I have school records for track, so I know a little bit about it, but I would say this is my favorite sport and being able to be up there on that list means a great deal to me.”
Frankenfield is now 10th all-time in the school’s top 100 in points. One of the people he passed on that list is his dad, who’s an assistant coach with the team.
“I wanted it to happen sooner. It was, I think, more personal to me than it was for him,” said Mark Frankenfield.
Frankenfield grew up playing travel soccer for the Penn FC Youth club. He credits his skills to playing for them as well as for Pine Grove Area, while also running track at PGA at the same time.
“With his speed and skill, he can put pressure on the defense and open it up for the other players,” said PGA head boys soccer coach, Marvin Weber.
Weber also complimented Frankenfield’s leadership skills. He watched Frankenfield turn from a ‘lead by example’ type of teammate into a more vocal leader for the team.
“He was very excited about it and very happy about it, but it wasn't something that he talked about or, you know, even brought up. He was more concerned with the result, you know, how the team did was more important than that achievement,” said Weber.
That 2-0 win over Our Lady of Lourdes Regional was also a big win for the entire Cardinals team. That win clinches them a District XI playoff spot, with eight games remaining in the regular season.
The team now has six games left before the postseason begins. Their next match is Tuesday, Sept. 24th at 6:15p.m. versus Marion Catholic.