FRANKLIN – The Franklin men's soccer team faced off with the Manchester Spartans on Wednesday (Oct. 4) night in a matchup of two teams unbeaten in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play.
 
The Grizzlies (3-6-2, 2-1 HCAC) raced out to a two-goal lead in the first half but the Spartans (6-0-5, 2-0-1 HCAC) controlled the game over the final 45 minutes with Manchester leaving town 5-3 winners.
 
How it Happened
The scoring got started less than two minutes in with the Spartans taking a 1-0 lead but the Grizzlies drew even in the 15^th minute when a right wing shot from Theo Sasso tucked just inside the near post for the equalizer.
 
Sasso made it a brace in the 28^th minute when a Manchester handball in their own box allowed the Franklin winger to step up and bury the penalty kick for a 2-1 Griz lead. Lucas Pereira stretched the lead to 3-1 in the 33^rd minute when he headed in a long throw in from Kobe Darnold for his second goal of the year.
 
But the Spartans got a goal back just before the half and took the momentum with them into the final 45 minutes, scoring twice in a span of five minutes early in the second period and punctuating the win with a goal in the 89^th minute.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Shot attempts were 16-11 in Manchester's favor with Sasso's four attempts pacing the home side.
-Darnold and Russell Bilohlavek collected their first assists of the season with Bilohlavek picking up the first point of his career.
-Ian Rowe turned back seven shots in goal for Franklin.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies hit the road for the next two matches, starting with a trip to Bluffton on Saturday (Oct. 7) for a meeting with the Beavers. Kick-off is set for 3:30 p.m.