The Chattanooga Football Club women's team had the result it wanted. Then in a span of 13 seconds, it all went away.
Alabama FC scored in the final seconds of Friday's match, preventing new Chattanooga FC coach Erin Ridley's first victory. The teams tied 2-2 at Finley Stadium.
The CFC women (0-1-1) visit the Nashville Wolves next Saturday night and then host them on June 18.
Ridley felt good about the improvements in game two from the first match, a 4-0 loss to Knoxville.
"In terms of generating chances, you could tell it was a much better game for us," said Ridley, a Soddy-Daisy product. "The first game, we played a very direct team and never got in a rhythm. We were still struggling to find it in the first half (Friday), but in the second half we were much better in terms of creating movement off the ball, finding players in gaps, and I'm most proud of that. It's something we really worked a lot on, and I think it really carried forward to actual scoring opportunities.
"It was a good step, but we still have a lot to build on."
CFC was more aggressive from the opening minute of the second half and quickly broke a scoreless tie. Carlie Banks, who had been one of the primary attackers in the first half, was fouled in the box, which set up a penalty kick by Lizzy Shaughnessy that gave the home team a 1-0 edge.
That lead lasted for about seven minutes, when Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney popped a shot from distance over CFC goalkeeper Abbey Saddler's head to tie the match.
The home team edged back in front when, after continual pressure in and around the box - which included near misses by former Soddy-Daisy star Summer Lanter and former Chattanooga Christian standout Beata Brock. Hailey Nichols finally put CFC back in front on a shot from about 25 yards out in the 72nd minute, a lead that held up until a goal in the match's final seconds when Alabama outflanked CFC on the offensive end.
"It feels like a punch in the gut," Ridley said of the late equalizer. "It was a gutsy performance. We created lots of chances and we were much better in the second half. At the end they put a lot of pressure on our back line, and we've been giving up goals on the weak side.
"Still, I'm very pleased with our individual performances. We're trying to mitigate a high-tempo game and try to keep control of it, and I think that's something we can adjust to."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.