An unassisted goal inside the 18 by sophomore Diego Aliaga (left) in the 14th minute lifted a huge weight of the Wabash soccer team's shoulders Wednesday afternoon. After losing in the final minutes of their last two matches, the Little Giants held on to defeat Franklin 1-0, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
Aliaga's goal was his first of the season. He took an initial pass from Mike Kaster and fired a shot that was blocked by the Franklin defense. Aliaga found the loose ball in front of the net and fired again, scoring the eventual game-winner.
"This may have been the worst we've played this season, but I'd rather have an ugly 'W' than a nice 'L'," head coach Roberto Giannini. "We've endured as a team. Today we went in with the same spirit, but we didn't have the intensity we've produced in the past three games. We didn't play good soccer, but we came away with a win.
"The past three games we played well as a team, but had lapses in the final minutes that led to losses. Now we have to go back to play the way we have in our last three matches and find a way to do that over 90 minutes."
Shots on goal were even for both teams at six a piece. Jon Miller made all six saves to pick up his second win at goalkeeper for the season. Aliaga and Josh Manker each had two shots on goal to pace the Wabash offense.
The Little Giants (3-12-0) travel to Kenyon Saturday for a 3 p.m. North Coast Athletic Conference match against the Lords.