Royals Finish Soccer Season With Scoreless Tie

The Blissfield varsity soccer team concluded a stellar soccer season with a 0-0 draw against Monroe Jefferson.

The Royals varsity squad finished its season with a 7-2-5 record.

Blissfield had several glorious scoring chances but couldn't find the back of the net. Midway through the first half, senior co-captain Liv Keinath one-timed a crossfield pass over the Jefferson net. A short time later, Blissfield went crossfield again, this time it was Emily Loar and trying to find Caitlyn Meszaros in the middle or a streaking Corrine Domschot on the right flank, but the pass was just a little too far. With 8:55 to play in the half, Loar, who dominated the play for much of the first half, did great work to give Blissfield dangerous position deep in the Jefferson zone. She centered to Meszaros, who quickly forwarded the ball to her right flank, Haley Neri. Neri kicked a low shot of the goal post. Loar just missed chipping the rebound into the net. With 1:40 to play, Blissfield set up another neat scoring play. Once again, Loar was in the middle of everything, booting a high pass to the middle of the field for Meszaros, who headed the ball at the Jefferson goalie.

Jefferson was fortunate to escape the first half tied at zero.

Early in the second half, Blissfield continued its dangerous assault. Meszaros rifled a shot off the goal post. With 28:42 to play, the Jefferson goalie robbed Keinath on a free kick from just out side the penalty area.

The Royals appeared to tire as the game went on, and Blissfield goalie Cierra Sell was called upon to make several important saves. With 21:20 to play, though, Blissfield was back on the attack. Neri fired a good shot from just outside the box but the Jefferson goalie gobbled it up.

At the 12:36 mark, Sell bailed out the Royals with a big save on a two-on-one.

The Royals seemed to gain life from the save. Neri and Keinath were dominant at midfield, breaking up plays and putting the team back on offense. With 9:35 to play, Keinath intercepted a pass and carried the ball up the field for a shot from the center of the field.

A short time later, Keinath intercepted a pass and sent in Meszaros for a great scoring chance. One-on-one with the goalie, she fired the ball a few feet wide with 8:31 to play.

At the 4:25 mark, Meszaros fought through her check and was in alone on the goalie again. This time she missed to the right, by just a foot.

With 3:00 to play, Keinath intercepted a pass a sprinted up the right side. About 15 yards from the goal, she was slammed to the ground by the Jefferson defender. Her free kick soared across the crease, just a little bit too far for Domschot.

With seven seconds to play, Keinath had another great chance. From point blank range, she fired a shot just a foot over the crossbar, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

"We had so many chances today but we just couldn't score. We played three games this week, and that left us no time to practice, so we weren't as sharp as we could have been," said coach Noel Moreno, who guided the team to an all-time best second place finish in the Independent Soccer League.

With a successful regular season behind them, the Royals now look forward to the district tournament, which starts at Jackson Newport Lutheran Tuesday. With a win, Blissfield would continue the tournament at Washtenaw Christian.

"I think we can have a successful tournament. It all depends on how much the girls want to practice over the holiday weekend," Moreno said.