If Wednesday evening's men's soccer match between Franklin and Asbury was to be assigned a theme song, it'd almost certainly have to be Too $hort's "Blow the Whistle."

On a night that featured six cards — including a red issued to Jacobo Alarcon in the 37th minute that left the Grizzlies down a man the rest of the way — the home team showed a renewed energy and fight but still came out on the wrong end of a 4-0 score at Faught Stadium.

The visiting Eagles grabbed the upper hand eight and a half minutes in with a breakaway goal by Tyson Absher, but Franklin, which showed a great deal of attacking energy early, nearly evened the score around the 18-minute mark. A cross from the right wing by Russell Bilohlavek found Enzo Crivari, who put a head on the ball and nearly beat Asbury keeper Crosby Short, who needed to dive to his left to make the save.

After that, the whistles seemed to go against Franklin at every turn. A penalty kick in the 27th minute helped give the visitors a 2-0 lead, and Alarcon was red-carded about 10 minutes later.

Playing shorthanded for the final 53:30 of play, the Grizzlies showed plenty of grit and kept the deficit at two until Absher got free for another goal with 20:13 to go in the match. Nathan Haglund's second penalty kick tally less than four minutes later closed the scoring.

The overall shot totals were close, with Asbury ending the night with an 11-9 edge, but the Eagles put more chances on frame, 8-2. Silva made four saves in a losing effort, including a couple from close range.

Franklin (0-5) travels to Albion Saturday afternoon before returning home next Wednesday to play Heidelberg.