The Franklin County High School boys soccer team played the Columbia Lions to a 1-1 draw at home on April 23 for the team’s first tie of the season.

After falling behind in the first half of the district contest, Franklin County scored an equalizer midway through the second half with neither team being able to pull ahead from there.

Franklin County head soccer coach Kent Bean said that the tie wasn’t the most desirable result, but he added that his team played well overall coming off of a big win against Shelbyville on Tuesday.

“We had some momentum from the last few games, but I think we just had a really, really tough matchup on Tuesday, and we were just fighting to get through this one. We’re pretty satisfied getting out of there with a tie,” he said. “We’re at the point of the season where it’s tough. We’ve got to fight through a couple things. You’ve got to be a little bit uncomfortable up there, and hats off to them for doing that today.”

The Lions broke the scoreless tie with 11:58 remaining in the first half as a shot from Columbia was crossed in and deflected into the net off of the left goalpost.

Franklin County trailed 1-0 at halftime.

Franklin County was able to tie the score with 16:13 remaining in the contest as Gezer Hernandez received a pass from Edber Perez up the field and lobbed a shot into the net to make it a 1-1 game. It was the sixth goal of the season for Hernandez.

Both teams created offensive opportunities for themselves in the time remaining, but neither side was able to break through for another goal as they settled for a draw.

With the draw, Franklin County moved to 8-6-1 on the season and 5-2-1 in district play.

Franklin County 5, Shelbyville 4

The FCHS boys soccer team beat the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles 5-4 on the road on April 21 for the team’s eighth win of the season.

The teams traded goals early in the contest with Franklin County pulling ahead for good in the second half to claim a key district victory.

Franklin County was awarded a penalty kick about 13 minutes into the game after Hernandez got tripped up in the goal box, and Giovanni Mendez successfully converted on the attempt to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Following a goal from Shelbyville to tie the score, Perez gave Franklin County a 2-1 advantage midway through the first half as he scored off of an assist from William Orr. It was the 11th goal of the season for Perez.

Franklin County was given another penalty- kick opportunity with about 14 minutes left in the first half as Giovanni Mendez once again scored on the attempt to boost the deficit up to 3-1. It was the second goal of the day and the seventh of the season for Giovanni Mendez.

However, the Golden Eagles rallied and recorded two more goals to tie the score at 3-3 going into the halftime break.

Franklin County got off to a strong start in the second half with Nic Vega volleying a shot into the net to give his team the lead once more at 4-3. It was the first goal of the season for Vega.

The lead expanded to 5-3 a few minutes later as Harrison Crenshaw received a pass from Perez and fired a shot which deflected off of a defender and into the net for his third goal of the year.

The Golden Eagles scored one more time with about 10 minutes remaining to cut the lead in half, but Franklin County’s defense held them off the rest of the way to clinch a one-goal victory.

With the win, Franklin County improved to 8-6 on the season and 5-2 in district play.

The boys soccer team next played Tuesday at Warren County High School in a game which came after the Herald Chronicle’s press deadline.