FRANKLIN – A deluge followed a day of rain as the Franklin field hockey team shrugged off a slow start to defeat North Attleborough Thursday afternoon, 5-0, on the Beaver Pond Recreation Area turf. Sophomore Haley Wernig scored three goals for the Panthers. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Wernig scored the only goal of the first half, then needed just 42 seconds to make it 2-0 early in the third quarter. Franklin scored three times in the third. 

“North Attleborough’s a very strong team; always very aggressive,” said Panther captain Kaitlyn Carney. “It was good that when we finally settled in, we were able to pull through. Even after the slow start, we were still able to keep our heads in the game and pull through.” 

Much of the area received more than an inch of rain and thunderstorms were prevalent in the morning. But as the Panthers were walking off the field with another win, the sky was clearing after a bright sunset. 

“I don’t think we had much hope to play today,” said captain Shaw Downing, “but we were excited when we found out we were.” 

Franklin improved to 5-0-1, and has that same record in the Hockomock League. 

With the clock winding down in the third quarter, Emily Carney dribbled inside the penalty arc and drilled a pretty backhander into the net with just 1.3 seconds left in the period. Payten Crandall also scored, finishing off a sweet pass from Emily Carney. 

52: Number of consecutive Hock League games Franklin has won. 

40-2: Margin that the Panthers have outscored teams this season. 

Devon Barry and Megan Sullivan (2 saves each) combined for the shutout in goal. 

“We were a little nervous in the first quarter,” said Franklin coach Michelle Hess. “We actually ended up moving a few people around and that was the difference. They’re talented; they’re quick and fast and that kind of caught us off guard.” 

Franklin plays at Sharon, which improved to 5-0 with a 2-1 win over Oliver Ames on Thursday, on Sept. 28 at 3:45 p.m. “They always play us really hard,” Hess said. “It’s always a tough game.” 

Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas