LISBON FALLS —  Morgan Reeves burst past one defender. He bounced off another and spun away from a third in hopes of getting off a shot.

The Lisbon senior had the ball and some space to work with, but he just didn’t have the time. With the final seconds of overtime ticking away, Reeves hopes for a fantastic finish came up short.

“I went to my left and I thought, ‘I’ve got to aim,’” said Reeves, who was sent in for a last-ditch opportunity with a pass by Ryan Fairbanks at the midfield. “I took too much time. The defender did his job and rushed it and poked it out.”

Right down to the final seconds of play Tuesday, goals were hard to come by for both teams. Lisbon and Hall-Dale had to settle for a 1-1 tie. Both teams, now 6-1-1, are battling for positioning atop the Western C standings.

“That’s something we’ve been searching for all season — where do we stand against the top tier teams in Western C?” said Lisbon coach Dan Sylvester. “How do we overcome a 1-0 deficit and then have opportunities and not finish, because we’ve been finishing very well? The more we get into these games, it’s better for these things to come along.”

The only loss for both teams have been to unbeaten St. Dom’s. So Tuesday’s matchup was expected to be a battle. Both teams had opportunities but couldn’t produce the tie-breaker.

Sam Shepherd had the lone goal for the Bulldogs while Reeves tied it for the Greyhounds early in the second half.

“They played their game and we played our game,” said Reeves. “We both had opportunities. We just didn’t finish.”

Hall-Dale had the best of the chances in overtime. The Bulldogs possessed the ball more in both five-minute sessions. Lisbon’s defense bent but never broke. Keeper Shane Tanguay was superb in net with nine saves and the defense in front of him was solid.

“Justin Grant at sweeper is just amazing,” said Sylvester. “He’s really the backbone to the whole team. He plays very smart. He has to clean up some messes from time to time. He’s very composed, and he knows what he needs to do. The guys rally around that.”

Lisbon came out strong from the start. Mason Smith was aggressive up front and helped the Greyhounds put on some early pressure. The Greyhounds couldn’t turn the early momentum into a lead.

Instead, it was Hall-Dale that struck first. With 10:01 left in the half, Ben Crocker had the ball on the right side. He crossed it to the middle for Shepherd, who had an open shot in front.

Elliot Manocal had a bid late in the half for Lisbon. His shot was tipped over the net by keeper Zach McNaughton.

Lisbon came out strong in the second half. Reeves hit the post on one shot from the left side. Moments later, he didn’t miss. Just 2:58 into the half, he swished a shot into the twine from a tough angle on the left side.

“I took it to the flag,” said Reeves of his fifth goal of the season. “I was looking to pass, but I saw the goalie playing out. So I just shot it – up and over.”

Both teams had chances during the rest of regulation. Fairbanks fed Reeves for another bid but the shot went over the net. Reeves had a nice header late in regulation off a Brady Fenderson corner.

Hall-Dale’s best chances came from a redirection by Shepherd that went wide. Nat Crocker had a try that Tanguay made a leaping save on and Steven Longfellow had a header over a charging Tanguay that went over the crossbar.

“To come out of here with a tie, with the way both teams played, nobody can complain,” said Sylvester. “It was a great day for soccer. I was proud of the guys for the way they played.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

LISBON —

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