Franklin men's soccer liked its chances of celebrating Senior Day with a victory over Bluffton on Saturday afternoon, and played much of the match like a team destined to make it happen.
As has been the case in several matches this fall, however, it just took one moment for the desired result to slip away. A Beaver tally early in the second half held up as the lone goal in a tough 1-0 Griz loss.
A back-and-forth first half yielded several quality scoring chances for the Grizzlies (0-11-3, 0-5-1 HCAC).
Lane Trump had shots on goal in both the 12th and 22nd minutes, and a flurry of action in front of the Bluffton net during the 33rd action produced two more, with a
Tripp O'Brien shot rebounding back out to
Oscar Garcia at the top of the 18-yard box for another.
Johnny Garcia and
Jacobo Alarcon Salazar added shots on frame before time ran out in the first half, but the two sides went into the break deadlocked at 0-0.
From the outset of the second half, Bluffton was the more aggressive side — and just over 10 minutes in, the Beavers took advantage of an opening and converted what proved to be the only score of the day.
Shots were tougher to come by for the Grizzlies, with their only attempt on goal coming from Alarcon Salazar in the final minute.
Bluffton finished with a 13-11 edge in total shots, though Franklin put more on goal by a 7-3 count and also had an 11-6 advantage in corner kicks.
The Grizzlies will be on the road this coming Wednesday (Oct. 21) at Manchester.
