The Morgan Krause era nearly began with an epic comeback.

Franklin women's lacrosse rallied from a six-goal halftime deficit in its season opener against Bethany, cutting the margin to a single goal before ultimately coming up on the losing end of a 12-10 score at Faught Stadium.

The Grizzlies got on the board at the 8:02 mark of the first quarter when an unassisted tally by Claire Ecenbarger tied the game at 1-1. Freshman Kiera McCord notched her first goal off an Abby Moore assist to cut the Bison lead to 3-2 early in the second before the visitors reeled off five unanswered goals over the last 9:53 of the half to go into the break with an 8-2 cushion.

Down but not out, Franklin chipped away in the third quarter. Addie Whitman scored a pair of goals, including one with 24 seconds left, and Addison Roehling and Aubrey Small also tallied to help bring the Griz to within 10-6 going into the fourth. The rally continued as Ecenbarger scored twice in a 2:09 span with a Moore goal sandwiched in between, making it a 10-9 game with 9:39 remaining.

Bethany slowed the avalanche of Grizzly momentum with back-to-back scores. Ecenbarger cashed in on a Maggie Matthews assist with 48 seconds left, but the Bison forced a turnover on Franklin's final possession to seal the outcome.

Ecenbarger paced the Griz attack with four goals, while Whitman finished with a pair. Moore had a goal and three assists. Freshman goalie Sophie Taylor made eight saves in her debut.

Franklin is off for two weeks before returning to action at Madonna on Saturday, March 7. The team's next home game is March 9 against Aquinas College.