NORTH EASTON, Mass. - Oliver Ames and Foxboro, two of the top scoring teams in the Hockomock - raced back and forth on Monday afternoon.
In the end though, it was the goalies that stole the show.
Foxboro sophomore Hallie Canfield thwarted Oliver Ames' pressure in the first half and OA freshman Regan Benton was equally impressive in the second half as the two teams battled to a scoreless draw.
With the point from the tie, Oliver Ames clinches its second straight Davenport Division title outright.
"I think it was a tale of two halves," OA head coach Britt Sellmayer said. "We had more control in the first half, and they definitely dominated the second half. Regan came up with some big saves for us. Erin Fitzgerald and Shannon Halloran were solid in the back and Delaney Benton in the back did a great job. We had a lot of problems with their offsides trap and making decisions in the second half."
Oliver Ames came out with high pressure in the first half but couldn't solve Canfield. Halfway through the first half, a pair of underclassman gave the Tigers its first scoring chance. Sophomore Lauren Wright played a through ball behind the defense to freshman Abby Reardon, but her tough angle shot was saved at the near post by Canfield.
Five minutes later, OA sophomore Kianna Lozzi was fed a through ball behind the defense and went in on goal alone, but a charing Canfield came out and dispossessed Lozzi. Just 30 seconds later, Lozzi ripped a shot from 20 yards out that looked like it was going to find the inside of the far post, but Canfield dove to her right and reached out one hand and knocked the shot wide for a corner kick - which she came out to save herself.
"I think first half OA definitely controlled the game but we had a great second half and you hardly saw it on OA's attacking end except when they booted it forward," Foxboro coach Kaitlin Lamothe-Vaughn said. We had a lot of opportunities and I think we should have come out with the win but we didn't but there aren't going to be many teams better than OA in the tournament and that's where we're headed now."
Foxboro decided to play a higher line defensively in the second half, causing headaches for the Tigers. The Warriors' trap worked well as the Tigers were whistled for offsides nearly a dozen times. The shortened field was a big help in Foxboro's added pressure, as well as moving freshman Lily Sykes up to striker.
The move nearly paid dividends less than 15 minutes into the half as Sykes was able to get in behind he defense and ripped a shot from just outside the area, but Benton was up to the task as she dove to the right and pushed the low shot wide.
Just four minutes later, Siobhain Nolan's cross turned into a shot on target as it curled onto the goal just below the crossbar, but once again Benton got her fingertips on it and kept it out.
Benton's biggest save of the game came in the 66th minute. Sykes was fouled in the area, resulting in a penalty kick. The freshman hit a low shot but Benton dove to her left to stop the shot and then smothered the rebound to keep the game scoreless.
The teams both pushed for a goal inside the final minutes, but were unable to generate any close chances.
"I have no doubt that we'll do well postseason," Lamothe-Vaughn said. "We were looking for the win. We didn't want to share the title but sharing it is better than not having it."
Oliver Ames finishes the regular season 11-1-4 overall and will likely get a top seed in the D1 South bracket. Foxboro finishes 12-2-4, second in the Davenport and will likely earn a home game in the D2 South bracket.
Click HERE for a photo gallery of the game.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.