CLEVELAND, Ga. - The Lady Eagles battled the No. 13 team in the country tough to start the 2024 season, but a late explosion put the game out of reach in a 6-0 loss to Truett McConnell Wednesday afternoon at the TMU Soccer Complex in a scoreline that is not too reflective of how close the game was at moments.

Faulkner held the Bears to a 2-0 scoreline on the road until the 77th minute when the wheels started to fall off on the challenge from the Lady Eagles to the nationally acclaimed side.

Truett McConnell opened the scoring in the 12th minute before adding another in the 38th. In between those, Keila Cardeiro stopped a one-on-one in the 25th minute to keep it a one score game, but Faulkner could not find a way past the solid Truett McConnell defense to equalize. 

18 different Lady Eagles got into the match with three different goalkeepers playing about a third of the match each. Cardeiro led the way with two saves and Brittany Wilkinson led with 33 minutes played. 

Alessia Confalonieri led the offense with three shots.

The Lady Eagles look to rebound against Brenau in the home opener Saturday evening at 5 p.m. at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium. Read Full Article