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Girls Soccer: Neither Monarchs or Clippers are thrilled with tie

Southold/Greenport's Jill Golden and Bishop McGann-Mercy's Alexandra Hulse competing for the ball during Monday's 2-2 draw. (Credit: Garret Meade)

Like two trains passing each other on parallel tracks, two lines of high school soccer players heading in opposite directions exchanged high-fives and congratulations on the game they had just played.

Bishop McGann-Mercy walked one way, Southold/Greenport the other. For the most part, the looks on the faces of the players were rather glum.

Ties, you see, aren’t known to generate much excitement. McGann-Mercy’s coach, Mary Jackson, found the right flavor to describe a draw: vanilla.

A tie isn’t a positive or a negative. It’s just, well, a tie, a neutral result.

That’s where the two teams were left Monday after playing 100 minutes of soccer, level at two goals apiece. The Monarchs (0-2-1 overall and in Suffolk County League VII) were denied what would have been their first win of the season, and the Clippers (1-2-1, 1-1-1) failed to come away with a victory on their home field at Southold High School. Both sides, sensing they had let a win slip through their grasp, sounded disappointed afterward.

Some déjà vu may have been involved. When these two teams played in a league game a year and five days ago, that game finished in a 3-3 tie.

This time the Clippers could be grateful to their freshman forward, Jill Golden, for coming through with her first two goals of the season, including the equalizer with 11 minutes 41 seconds left in the second half. Emily Perry had played the ball to Rosemary Volinski, whose shot was parried aside nicely by goalkeeper Juliana Leonardo. Golden, however, was in position to punch the rebound into the unguarded goal, making it 2-2.

Neither team mounted any serious scoring chances in overtime.

The Clippers went ahead, 1-0, on Golden’s first goal at 8:24.

That lead lasted until the second half when Siobhan Merrill set up goals by Olivia Kneski at 45:37 and Madeleine Joinnides at 49:14.

Leonardo made four saves and her counterpart, Hayley Brigham, made five.

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Photo: Southold/Greenport’s Jill Golden and Bishop McGann-Mercy’s Alexandra Hulse competing for the ball during Monday’s 2-2 draw. (Credit: Garret Meade)