Eagles And Knights Can’t Seem To Stop Renewing Their Ties

Nearly seven hours of soccer have elapsed between West Valley and East Valley without drawing a conclusion.

“It will happen eventually,” said West Valley coach Dirk Linton, prior to Thursday’s 1-1 tie, the fifth straight between the two Frontier League rivals. “It would be wild if it happened again. Too strange.”

Too strange, indeed. In a quintet of matches going back to last year, not only have the teams not reached a decision but in four league counters each has managed to score only three goals against the other.

Last season, following a non-league tie, the teams deadlocked 0-0 and 2-2 in the Frontier. Earlier this year they went scoreless for 80 more minutes before Thursday’s standoff.

Ties and low scores are common in soccer, but it is still difficult to explain why there wasn’t at least one win among all those games.

“Even with it being an even match there’s coincidence there,” admitted Linton.

Knight coach Bill Wright added that it’s getting old.

Said Wright, “It becomes a cat and mouse game, (because) the kids know each other and Dirk and I know each other, too. “

He added that he thought it was a matter of his team not making its breakaway shots count.

“Our girls are kicking too early,” Wright said. “The forwards maybe are rushing things. That’s a human tendency.”

Linton said that it is WV’s defense that has forced long EV shot attempts and that the Eagles haven’t capitalized on crosses in front of the Knight goal.

In the last four games, EV has outshot WV 68 to 41, a testament to the futility of their two-year standoff.

These aren’t two struggling teams. East Valley (5-0-2) shares first place with Riverside/Deer Park (6-1) in the Frontier League and beat that team 1-0 two days earlier. Both have 12 points, based on two points for a win and one for a tie.

WV is tied for third after sustaining its third league tie and fourth overall this fall. The Eagles play Riverside/Deer Park today.

Thursday, the Knights dominated early and Sara Bartlett scored 17 minutes into the game. The Eagles tied the game on an angled shot by Dawn Salfer over the reach of Knight goalkeeper Anita Heaton 14 minutes into the second period.

Afterward, Salfer said about yet another tie, “This is terrible. We need to resolve something out of it.”

Wright would have preferred victory after being kissed by his rival for the fifth straight time.

“I’m his sister,” he said, alluding to the adage that addresses how satisfying a tie is in a sports contest.

Linton disagreed.

“That’s an American mentality. Don’t play for a tie,” he said. “That’s what makes league standings more accurate.

“Maybe people don’t like the result but you’ve got to admit there’s a lot of excitement. When it’s a tie game, the last 10 minutes are pretty interesting.”

There’s still the possibility that the two teams would meet again, in the Frontier League playoffs at the end of the month.

That game would have to produce a winner.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Painful loss for EV East Valley’s soccer team suffered a blow Thursday when scoring leader Licia Arnot apparently broke her leg in a collision with West Valley goalkeeper Stacey Roberts. The injury occured 11 minutes and 30 seconds into the second half of the soccer match between the schools with EV leading 1-0. Following a half-hour delay, the game resumed and WV tied the score 2-1/2 minutes later. “She’s our best player, no doubt, on offense,” said Knight coach Bill Wright. Roberts and Arnot had both gone after a loose ball near the end of the box when they tangled and the accident occured. The injury was to her right leg about six inches below the knee.