As they do after every match, the Chattanooga Football Club women’s soccer players gathered in a circle Thursday night, with coach Drew Courtney offering some final thoughts.
This time there were a couple of tears and a lot of disappointment.
Yet there also was reason for optimism after their 3-1 home loss to the Atlanta Silverbacks, effectively ending Chattanooga FC’s season. The hosts had moments in which they outplayed their first-place opponents, largely in the second half after spotting the Silverbacks two goals in the first half.
Their intensified attacking led to the CFC goal in the 63rd minute by Carlie Banks, assisted by Summer Lanter. The Lee University junior and former Soddy-Daisy standout made a run down the right side and chipped the ball across to the former LSU Tiger, who put the shot away to trim Atlanta’s lead to a goal.
“We had a better work ethic,” Lanter said of the improved play. “I think in the second half the girls put a lot of heart into it and we knew what we needed to do. We worked really hard to try to get that; unfortunately it didn’t happen, but we went out as a team and that’s all we can ask for.”