Franklin men's soccer found its footing in the second half at Blackburn on Monday. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the awakening came a little bit too late.
The host Beavers controlled the first half and built a two-goal lead before Franklin rallied, and that cushion held up in a 2-1 Griz defeat.
Blackburn outshot the Grizzlies by an 11-4 margin in the first half, taking a 1-0 lead into the break. Franklin (0-3-2) showed immediate signs of life in the second half, with
Enzo Crivari putting a shot on target in the 49th minute and
Russell Bilohlavek immediately following with an attempt off the crossbar. Crivari put another shot on frame four minutes later.
But the visitors' momentum was temporarily halted when Blackburn drew a foul at the other end and turned it into the second goal of the match with 34:56 remaining.
Over the final 10 minutes, the Grizzlies made a late push — and got on the board when freshman
Emilio Quintero converted off a
Tripp O'Brien feed with 8:03 left. Franklin got two more shots in the last five minutes from
Doodensly Moise and
Lane Trump, but was unable to net the equalizer.
Franklin outshot the Beavers 7-2 after halftime.
Goalkeeper
Austin White made three saves in a losing effort, all in the first half.
The Grizzlies will return to action this weekend at Faught Stadium with matches against Spalding (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Eureka (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.).
