NORTH MANKATO — It wasn’t a win, it wasn’t a loss. But it still feels weird.
Despite multiple scoring opportunities, Mankato East girls’ soccer was forced to settle on a 1-1 tie against Rochester Century Tuesday.
“Nobody wants to tie,” Cougars head coach Miranda Rauenhorst said. “We got better. We’re getting better. We needed that.”
The Cougars nearly got on the board in the game’s opening moments. To be exact, sophomore Laina Peterson’s shot struck the post and ricocheted out of bounds 16 seconds into the game.
She scored 20 minutes later for a 1-0 Cougars lead. The Panthers clapped back 10 minutes later when a shot on goal sailed inches north of East goalkeeper Eva Starkey to tie the game 1-1 entering intermission.
And while neither team found the back of the net to take control on the scoreboard, it wasn’t from lack of effort.
The Panthers had multiple opportunities on their offensive end. But the Cougars defense and Starkey’s efforts kept the visitors off the scoreboard.
East also had its fair share of opportunities.
A corner kick with 14 minutes to go set up a shot opportunity for sophomore Katherine Schimek, who fired from long range. Her shot rifled off her foot and appeared to be online toward the net. Then the ball hit the crossbar like a right hook from Mike Tyson, met with a loud exhale from the East faithful.
Peterson had two chances late. She connected with a header on a corner kick that was snagged by a leaping Quinn Stewart in net for the Panthers. Peterson had one last look with 45 seconds remaining, but her shot attempt sailed left.
“We had a lot of opportunities, a lot of close opportunities to make it exciting,” Rauenhorst said. “Next time we’ll find the back of the net on those opportunities. We’re there, we’re working hard. We just have to finish.”
The Cougars face Mankato West 3 p.m. Saturday at Caswell North Soccer Complex.