The scoreboard — and even the stat sheet — didn't match the feeling on the Franklin sideline following Wednesday night's home match against Rose-Hulman.

Though the Grizzlies wound up on the losing end of a 3-0 score, the prevailing sentiment was that the Grizzlies had generally held their own against the preseason favorite to win the HCAC title.

"I think it's one of our better performances from a team play perspective and intensity perspective," Franklin coach Jen Jackson said. "Rose is number one in the conference right now, preseason number one, and they showed it tonight with some finishing. I think we got unlucky a little bit as well with some bounces."

Rose-Hulman got the only goal it needed just over 13 minutes into the action when Lauren Marquardt punched home a rebound after Franklin goalie Grace Williams had knocked away a previous shot from the other side. The Grizzlies (1-9-1, 0-3 HCAC) continued to fight, however, and it had a great chance at the equalizer about 24 minutes in when freshman Madison Hill beat the Engineer defense to create a one-on-one chance near the 18-yard line. Rose goalkeeper Brooke Spurlock made a diving stop to keep Franklin off the board, but the opportunity seemed to energize the home side, which spent the back end of the first half putting far more pressure on the Engineers' defense.

But that pressure didn't yield any shots on goal, and Marquardt put away another doorstep opportunity just before halftime to make it a 2-0 game.

In the second half, the Grizzlies kept knocking on the door, getting three corner kicks over the first 15 minutes and change, but they remained unable to punch one in. The Engineers got in one more punch before the match ended, scoring with 3:46 remaining to ice it.

Williams finished with a career-best 10 saves in defeat for Franklin, which played better than the one shot it was officially credited with.

"We just didn't pull the trigger when we could," Jackson said. "We'd get there attacking-wise, and maybe it's a cross that scoots through the box, and we don't get the stat because nobody finishes it or the shot doesn't come off. We were in a defensive positioning and posturing a lot tonight, but I think we stayed organized and looked for those moments to go forward. So now I think it's just finding the player that's going to capitalize for us."

The Grizzlies will have another chance to capitalize on Saturday when they travel to Anderson.