Franklin County's Cason Eslick, in blue, moves the ball down the field during a game Monday against Tullahoma High School. Eslick had two goals and an assist in the 4-0 win.
Franklin County's Cason Eslick, in blue, moves the ball down the field during a game Monday against Tullahoma High School. Eslick had two goals and an assist in the 4-0 win.
The Franklin County High School boys soccer team beat the Tullahoma Wildcats 4-0 at home Monday in a semifinal game for the District 8AA tournament.
Franklin County scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game and maintained a steady advantage the rest of the way as the team advanced to its district championship game for the second year in a row.
Franklin County head soccer coach Kent Bean said his team didn’t play its cleanest game of the year, but the overall result was still a positive one.
“We’ve just got to stay focused for 80 minutes, and I think it’s my fault. I let us get a little bit silly there in the first half,” he said. “They’re going to be boys, and I’ve just got to make sure I keep them focused, but they overcame it and stuck with the game plan in the second half.”
The first goal of the day came about 10 minutes after the opening kickoff as Cason Eslick received a long pass from Loui Arellano and fired a shot across the net which curled inside the goal line.
The lead grew to 2-0 less than two minutes later with Kevin Hernandez breaking through the defense and dribbling around Tullahoma’s goalkeeper before tapping the ball into the net off of an assist from Eslick.
Franklin County added to the lead once more with about 24 minutes remaining in the first half as Eslick worked his way between defenders and found the top right corner of the net with a shot for his second goal of the day and his sixth of the season to make it a 3-0 game.
Franklin County was awarded a penalty kick with 2:35 remaining in the half after Eslick got tripped in the goal box, but the ensuing attempt from Baylor Metcalf missed the mark to keep the lead at three goals.
Franklin County led 3-0 at halftime.
The final goal of the day came with 33 minutes remaining in the second half as Hernandez fired a shot into the net to grow the deficit to 4-0. It was the second goal of the day and the 28th of the season for Hernandez.
On the other end of the field, Franklin County goalkeeper Mason Woodall and his defense held the Wildcats off the board for the entire day as they recorded their second shutout of the season.
With the win, Franklin County improved to 7-4-3 on the season.
The boys soccer team will next play Thursday against Central Magnet High School at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in the District 8AA championship game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
