For more than 85 minutes, Franklin women's soccer held its ground against a St. Mary's College squad that had robust advantages in shots and corners — but the Grizzlies' luck ran out just a few minutes too early.
The host Belles netted the lone goal of the match with about four minutes remaining in the match, dooming the Griz to a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat.
St. Mary's finished with a 19-2 cushion in total shots and a 15-0 margin in corner kicks. Frankin junior goalkeeper
Emma Watson made six saves — including one on a penalty kick late in the first half — to maintain a draw most of the way before the Belles finally got past her with a late breakthrough.
"Emma played great to keep us in the game and made some really big saves," Griz coach
Jennifer Jackson said. "We just weren't our best on the ball today and had to defend for large amounts of time."
SMC outshot the Grizzlies by an 11-1 margin in the first half, forcing Watson to make a pair of stops in the eighth minute.
Avery Hamilton had Franklin's lone attempt of the half in the 14th minute and Watson made a pair of stops late, including the aforementioned PK in the 40th minute to keep it 0-0.
Watson had two more stops early in the second half. Franklin started to push forward somewhat down the stretch, with
Lauren Barker generating a shot that just missed the frame in the 83rd minute, but the Belles took advantage of a defensive breakdown a couple of minutes later on the other end to claim the lead.
"I love our fight and never-give-up attitude," Jackson said, "but we need to convert that into more attacking chances."
The Grizzlies (2-3) return home Tuesday evening to face DePauw.
