PHOTOS: Windermere vs. Horizon boys varsity soccer, a tie

What probably was the most expected — and anticipated — game of the season for both teams, the Windermere Wolverines and the Horizon Hawks boys varsity soccer teams, ended with no goals on a 0-0 tie Tuesday, Jan. 17.

A 9-3-4 Horizon has not lost a single game at its home field this season, and head soccer coach Brad Duerksen was excited that was still the case at the end of the game.

“I was extremely pleased by how hard we played, we weren’t perfect by any means, we created quite a few opportunities in the second half where it could’ve gone either way at certain times,” he said. “The ending score came up with the penalty save by (goalkeeper Daniel Case Melo Porto) so I’m glad that he was able to make that save. I’m very proud of how hard they played.”

The Wolverines, who currently hold a 10-0-2 overall record, continue their quest to conquer their first undefeated regular season in school history.

“The passions of this game made it very difficult for us to come in and play like we typically play,” Windermere head soccer coach Alvin Alexander said. “I think we played good, but we’ve typically scored three or four goals in every game, … (Horizon ) played well tonight, and well enough to tie (the game) up.”

A tough offensive and defensive battle on both sides, the Hawks and the Wolverines had a couple of opportunities to score during the game, but neither team was successful.

“I know they wanted this game really badly,” Duerksen said. “We haven’t lost on our home field all season and we wanted to keep it that way. It was nice to keep a zero on our end, … (and) I thought both teams played really well. It was nice to see high quality soccer in high school.”

Horizon will travel to Mulberry and Windermere will host Ocoee at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, for their final game of their regular season.

“They just have a way of understanding each other, playing well together, and they’ve been very successful as a junior varsity squad — that makes it really easy for us to be on this type of run,” Alexander said. “And I suspect, down the road, when we are playing someone where we don’t overthink things — and the drama is not running so high — this group will run a very long way.”