ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Elk Grove traveled to play Franklin in cold conditions on Wednesday evening, Jan. 7.  

The Elk Grove Thundering Herd going into this game had an overall record of 5-2-1 on the season while being 1-0 in league. They were coming off a 4-1 win against Burbank, which extended their winning streak to four games.    

While the Franklin Wildcats are having a tremendous first half of the season, they have an overall record of 8-0-1 and were also 1-0 in league play. They last played Central Valley and won 4-0.

The Wildcats started the game with the ball and were looking to gain momentum early, having a lot of ball movement to try and open opportunities for themselves.    

 

Elk Grove’s Drew Gerber, No. 17 gets the ball around a Franklin defender.

But the Thundering Herd was able to prevent any shot attempts, even being able to gain possession back. Franklin was able to prevent any shots just like Elk Grove did to them.                  

Both teams kept the ball in the midfield area, trying to gain an advantage. This led the two teams to start to play physically, allowing free kicks on either side. But both came up empty.

But then Franklin’s Marcos Zarate converted a corner kick to one of his teammates, scoring the first goal of the game with about 15 minutes left in the first half.            

Realizing the clock was winding down in the first half, Elk Grove attacked downfield. The Herd found an opportunity to score when senior Brandon McLean took advantage of being close to the goal and tied the game going into halftime.                    

 Although the Thundering Herd was able to start the ball at the beginning of the second half, Franklin was able to take the ball and apply pressure from the jump and most of the second half.  

The Wildcats attacked the goal with shots, freekicks and corner kicks but all came up empty. Elk Grove’s goalkeeper, Tyler Stone, was able to block all of the kicks that got through, giving tremendous effort to keep the game tied leading into extra minutes.

 

Elk Grove goalie Tyler Stone waits for team to be in position to kick the ball.

The Thundering Herd’s defense continued to play strong despite the Wildcats continuously applying pressure, allowing their offense to have the ball for one more possession before the game ended.              

During their last possession, Elk Grove was awarded with a corner kick. Looking to convert to win the game, it was their last chance. But Franklin was able to prevent Elk Grove from scoring, which ended the game.                         

That loss snapped Elk Grove’s win streak, but did not add to the loss column. This brought their record to 5-2-2 overall and 1-0-1 in league play.     

While Franklin is not perfect on the season, it is still undefeated, not having lost a game yet. This game brought the Wildcats’ record to 8-0-2 on the season and 1-0-1 for league play.