Bobcats and Yellow Jackets Battle to Scoreless Finish

The Battlefield and Osbourn Park boys soccer teams entered their Friday night matchup with a combined 39 goals scored and six wins apiece. After 80 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods, those numbers didn’t change — as the Bobcats and Yellow Jackets played to a 0-0 tie in a game pitting the top two teams in the Cedar Run District.  

“I’m happy that we didn’t lose, but it’s not a good feeling to tie,” said Osbourn Park junior Drew Ruggles. “We know that we should have won.”

The two squads certainly had opportunities during their 90-minute contest, with both teams missing goals by the slightest of margins. Ruggles nearly got the Yellow Jackets’ on the board twice, hitting the goal post in the first half and then the crossbar in the second. Teammate Zachary Roy was denied by Battlefield goaltender Jack Eaton on a point-blank shot in overtime, and junior Chase Ebel’s header was saved at the last moment by Battlefield’s Jared Windt with under a minute to play. Battlefield senior Franco Buzzalino nearly snuck a ball under the Yellow Jacket’s crossbar in the first overtime, but Yellow Jacket goalkeeper Dylan Leygraaf was there to knock the ball away. 

“Some of that’s timing,” Osbourn Park head coach Larry Nemerow said of the Yellow Jackets’ missed opportunities. “A lot of that is the fact that Battlefield’s good.”

When breaking their huddle before the game, the Yellow Jackets yelled out the number “212”. 

“Water only boils at one temperature: 212 degrees. At 213, it’s not water anymore. You can’t get hotter than 212. We want to play at 212,” said Nemerow. “Today, we played at maybe 180.”

In the first half, however, it looked as though that 32-degree difference wouldn’t make much of a difference, as the Yellow Jackets controlled much of the tempo during the first 40 minutes, peppering Battlefield’s sophomore goaltender with shots throughout. 

“I think just the mentality,” said Battlefield head coach Ott Pimsaen, explaining his squad’s slow start. “It’s Osbourn Park, they have that mental edge over us. In the second half, we settled in.”

While the Bobcats regrouped in the second half, Pimsaen was still upset after the game. It wasn’t so much about the result, but his team’s reaction to the tie. 

“They were happy with the draw and I don’t want to settle for draws,” said Pimsaen. “I’m not here to get draws. We aren’t going to settle for draws.”

The Bobcats and Yellow Jackets, now both 6-0-1, have their next crack at each other at Battlefield on May 12. 

“It’s a measuring stick now. We know that we have a team in our district that we will see again that is just as good as us,” said Ruggles. “We still have to work hard. We aren’t there yet. We just have to keep going.”