Adjustments were notable in the second showdown of the season between the Odessa High and Permian boys soccer teams Friday.
Most of the changes from their first match could be seen on the defensive end, which contributed to the 0-0 tie in District 2-6A play at Ratliff Stadium.
“It’s a fair result, it was a very even game,” Odessa High coach Eliseo Ortiz said. “We weren’t able to produce much and our defense held strong.”
Through the match’s first 15 minutes, Permian was the most consistent in the attacking end.
The Panthers worked the ball up near the Odessa High goal with combination passes, but couldn’t get shots off when they had clear chances.
Odessa High waited for the right chance to counterattack and that started to pay off later in the first half, when the Bronchos got their first shots on goal.
The most dangerous scoring opportunity for either side came with 1:30 left until the break when a direct free kick from Odessa High’s JJ Muela scraped the crossbar and went over the Permian goal.
Both teams regrouped quickly on defense to go into the break scoreless.
There wasn’t much clarity on who could come away with a win for a majority of the second half as pressing couldn’t break through the sturdy setups the Bronchos and Panthers had in the midfield.
Permian’s Amari Everage had a chance to break the tie with 11 minutes left in the match, but he saw his header bounce off the crossbar out of bounds.
“We ended up having clear scoring opportunities that we just couldn’t put away,” Permian coach Luis Carmona said. “The guys created and the effort was there, I can’t blame them for that.”
With the final minutes ticking down, Odessa High tried to create some last-chance shots by sending Ethan Wagner up to attack from his defensive position.
Nothing came out of the switch, as the deadlock remained at the final buzzer.
The last time Odessa High and Permian faced off, the Bronchos came away with a 2-1 victory on Feb. 2.
Carmona felt like his team had more success setting the tempo this time around, while Ortiz wants to see more desire from his players to finish scoring chances.
The Bronchos (8-6-3 overall, 5-3-1 district) face Midland Legacy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Grande Communications Stadium in Midland, while the Panthers (5-8-3, 3-3-3) will host Midland High at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ratliff Stadium.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
