The preseason turned into a moving experience for the Springdale High School boys' soccer team.

After a couple scrimmages junior Ryan Francis was moved from forward to center midfield.

Another junior, Bryan Weimerskirch, made the move from defense, his position last season, to forward. The moves paid off in a big way for the Dynamos.

Francis and Weimerskirch combined to be the top scoring duo in the WPIAL. In the regular season Weimerskirch led the Dynamos with 27 goals and Francis scored 23. Both added postseason goals as Springdale advanced to the semifinals by defeating Charleroi and Sewickley Academy.

Francis scored again Tuesday in a 2-1 victory against Freedom Area in the semifinals. The Dynamos will play Greensburg Central Catholic at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at Elizabeth Forward for the title.

Springdale finished the regular season 12-1-3 and won the Section 2-A title.

These two juniors were well aware the scoring onus was going to fall on them. Fourteen senior players graduated from the school a year ago, including seven starters.

Before the position switch, Francis set a target to score 20 goals. He had scored only nine goals last season but missed half the year with back problems. After the move to the central midfield, rather than adjusting his goal, Francis just worked harder.

"I set the goal high and then when I moved back, I still thought I could do it," Francis said. "I thought I could get at least 20. It just made we work harder for it. It was motivation."

Motivation was easy to garner for Francis and Weimerskirch. For the entire offseason and the better part of the regular season they heard how the Dynamos would be in store for a down year, considering all the talent from a year ago that had graduated.

"A lot of people didn't think we were going to do this," Francis said. "We heard about it all offseason and even halfway through the season. That was definitely motivation. People were always asking what we were going to do."

All the Dynamos did was bounce back from a 2-1 season-opening loss at Deer Lakes, to put together a 17-game unbeaten streak to reach the WPIAL semifinals. Last season, Springdale went 16-2 in the regular season but was upset in the first round by Freedom, Springdale's opponent in the this year's semis.

This is the second season for Francis and Weimerskirch playing together on the varsity but they are far from recent acquaintances. Through junior varsity soccer, junior high teams, three-on-three leagues and various cup teams, the two have been playing together since they first got on a field together as members of the Harmar Hurricanes when both were 6 years old.

Springdale coach Doug Matisz has the enviable position of being able to coach both.

"You can go so many different ways with them on the field," Matisz said. "You can move them around. They are flexible players who can play anywhere on the field and perform for you. They understand how the game is played."

With the void left by the graduation of 14 seniors, Francis and Weimerskirch have not only picked up the slack with scoring but also with leadership.

"They are only juniors but they became team leaders on the field," Matisz said. "They help with communication."

Last season Matisz admits that he thought Weimerskirch was being stifled a little bit playing on defense and in the midfield. After moving him up to forward this season, he said he was expecting a potential scoring outburst. What did surprise the 10th-year coach was the production of Francis.

"I kind of expected it from Bryan but Ryan was the bigger surprise," Matisz said. "I was guessing that Bryan would be a 20-goal scorer. Ryan I was anticipating 10 to 15 but he really surged. It is a luxury to have them both."

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