The opportunities were there for Franklin women's soccer on Wednesday night, but by the time the Grizzlies started cashing in on them, it was just a bit too late.
Down by three goals in the second half, the host Griz mounted a late charge with a pair of goals to make it interesting before falling to Asbury, 4-2, at Faught Stadium.
"We created a lot of chances in the first half," Franklin coach Jen Jackson said. "We just have to finish. I think a little bit of that is youth and inexperience and just having some players that need to grow up really quick ... to say, 'I'm the person that's going to put this in the back of the net.'"
Indeed, the Grizzlies (1-7-1) finished the first 45 minutes with a 5-4 edge in shots and a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, only to find themselves down 2-0 on the scoreboard after speedy Eagles wing Anna Sparks helped set up goals in the 14th and 31st minutes of play.
Asbury went up 3-0 early in the second half before Frankllin — which finished the night outshooting the Eagles 12-8 overall — began to rally.
Jetta Norris got the Grizzlies on the board with 13:31 remaining when she ran onto a long pass from
Amani Kincaid, beat her defender and punched in a shot from the left side. Less than two minutes later, Norris assisted on a
Sydney Lovett goal from close range to make it a one-goal match.
Franklin continued to create pressure, but the visitors were able to score off a free kick with just under three minutes left to seal it.
Though her team wasn't able to get all the way back in it with a tying goal, Jackson was excited by some of what she saw down the stretch and hopes the Grizzlies can carry some of that momentum into Saturday afternoon's HCAC opener against Mount St. Joseph.
"It's really difficult when you spot a team two in the first half," she said. "But to mount a comeback with some great energy, some really good individual efforts — and at times, some really good team effort — to dig back in, and to concede the fourth one there at the end off the set piece was pretty frustrating. But the girls fought; they never, ever gave up, which is a really great thing to build on."
