The Mustangs were the force, attacking the Caps goal repeatedly and nearly sending the home crowd into a celebration with each miss.

The Caps, however, were almost completely immovable, with almost nothing getting past their defenders, especially goalkeepers Everett McCord and Grant Bishop.

But one goal did, and that was enough to turn the game into a 1-1 tie between the two young teams.

“I really thought we were attacking more as a unit and were able to sustain it throughout the match,” said Middle Creek head coach Ed Wasdell, whose Mustangs are 1-3-1 overall. “We just need to get a little more proficient at finishing.”

That lack of finishing had a lot to do with McCord, a senior, and Bishop, a junior, who combined for 12 saves to give Broughton (2-1-2 overall) a chance to preserve the draw. Both keepers had their share of diving and fingertip saves.

“Our goalies played extremely well,” said first-year Broughton head coach Nick Wheeler. “The entire team really battled. The one thing we definitely need to improve on is our communication and our movement of the ball.”

The Caps scored first in the 14th minute when senior C.J. Tikvart dropped a shot from close range.

Broughton kept its lead until the 24:17 mark of the second half, when Middle Creek’s Ty Unger scored on a pass from sophomore Dylan Jenkins to knot the contest at 1-1.

Not to be undone on defense, Mustang goalie Anibal Montalvo recorded three crucial saves in the final 12 minutes to prevent Broughton from notching the victory.

Wasdell was also very impressed with the play of senior midfielder Matt Millington, who set the tempo for the Mustangs throughout the game. Wasdell also praised Baffour Attakora, who consistently kept the pressure on the Caps defense with his quick moves towards the goal.

Middle Creek’s lone victory of the season came in a 3-1 defeat of Millbrook.