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The Franklin County High School girls soccer team beat the Tullahoma Lady Wildcats 4-1 at home Thursday in the Region 4AA championship game.

Franklin County scored two goals in each half to steadily pull away as the victory gave the program its third consecutive regional title.

Franklin County head soccer coach Kent Bean said his players did a good job of stepping up and attacking the opposing goal aggressively, and he also said he was proud of how his younger players have continued to step up to fill spots in the wake of injuries.

Bean also paid tribute to former girls soccer players for Franklin County for continuing to support the team in key contests after graduation.

“The coolest part about the night was seeing so many former players at the game. Many couldn’t make it but still sent their positive comments,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have won the region three years in a row now, but it’s not something that could have been done without all of the players who have been a part of the program in the past.”

The first goal of the day came with about 19 minutes remaining in the first half as Cali Banks received a pass from Osiris Rodriguez and fired a shot past the opposing goalkeeper to give Franklin County the lead.

The early advantage doubled with 11 minutes to go in the first half with Rodriguez taking the ball down the field and hitting a long shot to make it a 2-0 game. It was the 16^th goal of the season for Rodriguez.

Franklin County led 2-0 at halftime.

Franklin County went on the attack almost immediately in the second half as Banks hit a shot from the top of the goal box for her second score of the day and her 17^th of the season about 90 seconds into the period.

Gracen Baggett rounded out the scoring for Franklin County as she found the net with a shot off an assist from Rodriguez to give her team a 4-0 lead with 26:50 remaining in the contest. The goal was the eighth of the year for Baggett.

The Lady Wildcats were awarded a penalty kick with about 11 minutes left after a collision between Franklin County goalkeeper Brenna Carroll and a Tullahoma player in the goal box. Carroll was also issued a yellow card on the play and had to briefly exit the game as a result.

Backup goalkeeper Calli Alonso was able to get a hand on the ensuing penalty kick, but the ball would still sneak into the net to get Tullahoma on the board.

However, Franklin County wouldn’t allow any more ground to be made up as the team went on to win by three.

With the win, Franklin County improved to 16-3-1 on the season.

The girls soccer team will next play Saturday at home against Alcoa High School in a sub-state game with a spot in the Class AA state tournament on the line. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.