Tigerville - North Greenville came up just short in a hard-fought Conference Carolinas battle on Monday, falling 12-11 to Emmanuel at Pepsi Stadium in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Playoffs. 

North Greenville opened strong, matching Emmanuel goal-for-goal in a 4-4 first quarter behind scores from Josie Rose, Isabella Ortiz, Aubree Mayse, and Ava Walls. The Trailblazers carried momentum into the second quarter, taking their largest lead of the afternoon at 6-4 after goals from Mary Regan and Rose, but Emmanuel responded with three unanswered goals to take a 7-6 edge into halftime. 

NGU answered again in the third, using two man-up goals from Rose and another from Walls to reclaim a 9-8 lead, but Emmanuel closed the quarter on a 2-0 run to move back in front. The Lions extended the lead to 12-9 in the fourth before North Greenville mounted one final push, getting back-to-back goals from Aubree Mayse in the final 2:14, including one with 47 seconds left, but the comeback fell just short. 

Rose led the Trailblazers with four goals, while Mayse added three and Walls scored twice with an assist. Ortiz contributed a goal and an assist while also helping North Greenville control possession, as the Trailblazers held advantages in shots (31-29), ground balls (14-11), and draw controls (15-10). Sydney Spelman made 10 saves in goal for NGU.