Ultimately, it ended the same as it started between the Olentangy girls soccer team and visiting Pickerington North.
The two battled for 80 minutes to a scoreless tie after thunder delayed the match for 50 minutes Saturday night.
The weather delay wasn’t a factor according to Olentangy coach Megan Kirsten, it was the quality defense displayed by both sides.
“We started a little bit late, but we still got the warmup in,” she said. “They’re used to being pressed for time after the JV game because we always seem to push over a little bit.”
Olentangy defender Melina Endsley provided the biggest stop on a Panther attack when she headed a shot off the foot of Nickie Anderson out of goal after it had slipped passed keeper Emma Spinner about 15 minutes into the game.
“That’s huge – Melina is a junior captain for us this year and she did what she was supposed to do (on that play),” Kirsten said.
Spinner did some fine shot stopping herself, particularly on a Clair Combs shot she dove to her left to stop with just over 21 minutes left in the opening half. Spinner stopped seven shots for Olentangy (1-0-1).
Olentangy had a scoring chance of its own that went for not. Sarah Markel got in front of a clearing attempt and got past the goalie, but her wide-open shot went off the right post and fell innocently out of bounds with just less than 18 minutes left in the first half.
North goalie Elise Moore went to her knees to pin a low shot by Olivia Neidhart to the ground less than three minutes into the second half.
“I thought we had a lot of high-pressure,” Kirsten said. “We did a good job of keeping in front of (Pickerington North). North is a great team and it’s always a good matchup against them.”
Moore left the game with a head injury after converging with a couple players on a loose ball in the box about nine minutes into the second half.
Kayla Primm, who started in goal for the Panthers (2-0-1), took over again and promptly had to dive to stop a header which was set up by a perfectly-placed pass by Sydney Richards.
But, scoring was just not meant to be.
Olentangy will try again Tuesday night when it visits Dublin Coffman at 7:15 p.m.
Also: Liberty 3, Oregon Clay 0; Buckeye Valley 5, Mount Vernon 2.
BOYS SOCCER
Anthony Seliskar scored a pair of goals, converting one of his team’s three penalty kicks, to lead Buckeye Valley to a convincing 4-0 win over visiting Mansfield Senior Saturday in Delaware.
The Barons (1-0-2) dominated throughout, outshooting the Tygers 16-2.
Despite peppering the net most of the game, three of the four BV goals came via PK. Brennan Perrine found the back of the net after being awarded a penalty kick in the 36th minute, Seliskar made it 2-0 by converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute and Charlie Daily, a freshman, hammered home a PK in the 72nd minute to net the first goal of his high school career.
Seliskar smoothed out the scoring summary in the 75th minute, collecting a punt from BV goalie Caleb King before hammering it past Mansfield keeper Shandon Riah.
“We had some trouble getting our shots on frame in the first half,” Buckeye Valley coach Eric Staley said. “We did much better in the second, but Riah is a very good keeper. We finally got one in the run of play with Anthony’s breakaway.”
The defense, meanwhile, gave up next to nothing.
“Our back line was solid,” Staley said. “Their striker got behind them a couple of times, but Caleb had good looks at the ball. Other than that, there was no threat to our goal.”
Also: Olentangy 5, Grove City 3.
GIRLS TENNIS
Cincinnati Sycamore 3, Liberty 2; Mason 5, Liberty 0.
FIELD HOCKEY
Liberty 3, New Albany 0.
