With time running out in a match that it had largely dominated but somehow wasn't leading, Franklin women's soccer took the bull by the horns.
Two goals in the final five and a half minutes — both off the right foot of senior
Lauren Barker — helped the Grizzlies pull away late for a 3-1 conference victory over Earlham on Wednesday night.
"It's really nice to get a result,"Â Franklin coach
Jennifer Jackson said. "They've worked very, very hard the whole season, and to finally get the result is really rewarding."
The match was deadlocked at 1-1 after the visiting Quakers scored off of a free kick with 18:25 remaining, and the prospect of a draw in a game where Franklin held an 18-6 advantage in total shots and a 10-0 edge in corner kicks was looming. But the Grizzlies (3-7-1, 1-2 HCAC) turned up the pressure in the final eight to 10 minutes, and got the breakthrough they needed in the 84th minute. A cross from the right side courtesy of freshman
Trinity Inglert found its way in front of the goal, and after glancing off the foot of rookie
Brooke Barnum, it wound up in front of Barker, who was able to punch the ball into the left side of the net with 5:22 on the clock.
Barker then added some insurance with a blast from nearly 30 yards out that got in above the reach of the Quakers' goalkeeper with 1:21 left.
"Definitely a sigh of relief there when the third one went in," Jackson said.
Neither side scored during a first half that saw the Grizzlies outshoot Earlham 8-0 and rack up seven corners. It wasn't until more than six minutes into the second half that Franklin was able to cash in, with senior
Amirah Curry knocking home a loose ball inside the box.
"When we were able to keep it and go forward and create a lot of chances in the first half, we didn't come away with what we wanted," Jackson said. "We talked about in the second half, generate more shots. We've got to get more — they still have to be quality, but you've got to get more. Second half, they came out and did it; they crashed the box, they did the dirty work to get the first goal. The second goal was kind of a scrum as well, and then the third goal, kind of the icing on top."
The victory puts the Grizzlies squarely back into mix for an HCAC Tournament spot, tied for sixth in the league standings with Anderson — who, as it happens, will visit Faught Stadium on Friday evening (5 p.m.).
As excited as the Franklin players were after the victory, they're well aware that it's going to take more of those in the coming weeks to achieve their long-range goals.
"They want to keep it going," Jackson said. "It's just a drop in the bucket. There's a long way to go, and a lot of soccer to be played. We want to be in the mix."
Wednesday night certainly helped.
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