Soccer can be a cruel game at times. A team can dominate the action for almost the entire game and still come out on the wrong end of the final score.
Such was the fate for the Franklin women on Friday night.
The host Grizzlies outshot visiting Blackburn by a 23-1 margin, but the Beavers' lone shot — a penalty kick late in the first half — held up as the only scoring in a 1-0 final.
"Sometimes the game doesn't care how hard you play," Franklin coach
Jennifer Jackson said.
Franklin (1-1) struggled to find a rhythm early but still generated opportunities, racking up five shots in the first 13 minutes of play. The last two of those, back-to-back efforts from
Mylee McAdams and
Lauren Barker, were turned away by Blackburn goalie Emma Zaidle.
Zaidle stopped three more Griz shots before the Beavers got the break they needed at the other end. A whistle in the box set up a penalty kick for Paige Schmelzer, who just beat Franklin keeper
Emma Watson to the far right with 13:10 remaining in the half.
After the break, the Grizzlies had complete control of the game but could not manage to get past Zaidle.
Barker had three shots in an 80-second span during the first 10:01 of the second half, and Franklin fired off 11 more in the final 24 minutes of play. Zaidle made three big saves in the last 10 minutes, and a shot by Barker just before time ran out was deflected wide, allowing the visitors to steal the win.
"I loved the fight in the team tonight to the last second," Jackson said. "It just wasn't our night — but we can't feel sorry for ourselves, as we go again on Sunday. Time to learn and grow from the experience and prepare for the next opportunity."
The Grizzlies will try to come away with a different result Sunday afternoon when they host Knox in a 3 p.m. showdown at Faught Stadium.
