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The Franklin County High School girls soccer team beat the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes 2-1 on the road Monday for the team’s ninth win of the season.

Franklin County took the lead late in the first half, added to the advantage in the last five minutes of the game and held off a late offensive surge from the Golden Eaglettes to pick up a victory in the physical contest.

Franklin County head soccer coach Kent Bean said that the challenging environment was something his team needed to face as they continue to prepare for the upcoming postseason.

“We knew that (Shelbyville) was going to come and play tough. They always do, and that’s honestly what we need in some of our non-district games to see how we’re going to respond to some tough matchups,” he said before referring to his players. “I’m just proud of them for fighting through it and closing it out.”

Bean also praised the play of Franklin County goalkeeper Brenna Carroll and the defensive unit in front of her with the group shutting down the Golden Eaglettes for most of the night and recording six shutouts so far this year, including four shutouts across Franklin County’s five district games for the regular season.

“They perform well every single game and don’t get the recognition they deserve. We are just super proud of the effort and energy they bring every game,” he said.

The game remained scoreless until the final minute of the first half when the ball ended up at the feet of Osiris Rodriguez after a series of deflections, and Rodriguez fired a long shot which bounced past the opposing goalkeeper for a goal.

Franklin County led 1-0 at halftime.

Franklin County’s defensive outlook was slightly affected with about 22 minutes remaining in the second half when Carroll had to briefly exit the field after being issued a yellow card following a collision with a Shelbyville player as Carroll had the ball in her possession.

However, backup goalkeeper Calli Alonso stopped the lone ball that was hit her way in relief, and Carroll re-entered the game after about a minute.

Franklin County was awarded a penalty kick with 4:05 left on the clock after Gracen Baggett got tripped in the goal box, and Rodriguez nailed the attempt for her second goal of the day and her 13^th of the season to put her team up 2-0.

The Golden Eaglettes then went on the attack and were able to find the corner of the net with a high shot to make it a 2-1 game with two minutes to go.

However, Franklin County held off the remaining scoring attempts from Shelbyville to keep the lead intact and ensure the win by one.

With the win, Franklin County improved to 9-3-1 on the season.

The girls soccer team will next play Thursday at Stone Memorial High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.