Girls soccer: Conant, Rolling Meadows battle to scoreless tie

Conant and Rolling Meadows played to a 0-0 draw Friday night at Robert Hoese Field in the final league game for both sides.

With second place still up for grabs and a place in the MSL semifinals next Tuesday, the host Mustangs (8-4-2, 6-3-1-19 points) still had a chance to finish second in the MSL East with a little help needed from division champion Palatine.

The Pirates did their part with a 3-0 victory over Buffalo Grove to end the season for the Bison with 21 points, giving the Mustangs an opportunity to finish with 21 points should they earn three points with a win over the visiting Cougars.

However, after 80 minutes, neither side could find the back of the net, with both clubs earning one point for the draw.

"I thought we played with a lot of energy and heart tonight, especially during the first 20 minutes after the break. But we just could not finish the chances we created," said Mustangs junior Kendall Niemiec, who has an eye-popping 19 goals.

"We have solid senior leadership from Lizzie Andriano, Eve Kakavetsis, Caila Cruz and Maggie Schoessling, and that's a big reason for a pretty successful season for us thus far," said coach Mike Drenth.

The Cougars (6-7-1, 4-4-2, 14 points) were coming off a terrific effort Wednesday with Palatine that ended in a 2-2 draw.

"(That) 2-2 game with Palatine gave us all a lot of confidence," said junior Hannah Hsu, who along with teammate Sienna McCarthy turned in a strong effort as the Cougars’ center-backs.

"We feel like we can play with a lot of really good teams now after our game with Palatine the other night," added McCarthy.

The Cougars had a glorious opportunity to hit the opener in the 15th minute when Lily Schaefer's unloaded a wicked blast off the bar, spilling a rebound to Vivian Brand near the spot.

Mustangs keeper Molly Dudle saved the point-blank attempt from Brand and two others before her teammates parried the ball out of the area.

The home side would enjoy most of the play after the intermission thanks in part to their high percentage of first and second balls they won, as well as much better passing between their midfield.

Natalia Tomaka, the Cougars’ first-year keeper, was called into action on a couple of occasions. Her best save came in the 68th minute on an angled effort from Niemiec.

"We played a more complete second half of soccer tonight, and that's something that was a real positive thing we can take with us," said Niemiec.

The Mustangs will have some time off before hosting Resurrection at its own regional May 19 while the Cougars have one last game with Prospect next Tuesday before prepping for its regional opener at home against Hersey, also on May 19.

"It was a hard fought, very competitive game tonight, with both teams playing great defense that allowed just a few good chances," said Cougars coach Jeff Melone.