Skyline Men’s soccer team was unable to find the back of the net in their Sept. 25 game against the Hartnell Panthers, leading to a scoreless draw.

Right before the opening whistle, both teams seemed eager to get off to a strong start with “first five!” being yelled by the Skyline huddle and Hartnell countering with “intensity.”

Early on, Skyline had their high pressure defense working to their advantage, pressuring Hartnell to give the ball up which lead to the Trojans having much of the possession in the first half.

Skyline’s best chance at a score in the first half came from Skyline’s forward, Christian Marquez, in the 28th minute. Marquez went on a 25-yard-run in between both Hartnell center backs only to have his shot pushed out on a full stretch dive by the Hartnell goalie, Jesus Parra.

Halfway through the first half Skyline was gifted another scoring chance when Parra picked up a yellow card after tripping Skyline forward Brayan Mendoza just outside of the penalty box. The ensuing free kick led to nothing and Skyline left the pitch at the half scoreless.

Three minutes into the second half, both teams traded scoring opportunities as Skyline forward, Jason Hernandez, had his shot blocked which led to a Hartnell counter which was executed with slick passing in between Skyline’s defenders. Their shot was saved by Skyline goalkeeper, Cesar Contreras.

It was noticeable that Hartnell came out of halftime more calm and composed leading to more possession and shots on goal for the Panthers.

“Let’s wake up Skyline, Let’s wake up!” was the message from midfielder, Kareem Lacayo, looking to get the Trojans back on their game plan.

Shortly after Hernandez looked to redeem himself with a great run to stay onside, yet his shot was right at the Hartnell goalkeeper who he had one-on-one. Skyline had their first corner kick of the second half in the 66th minute after two more shots were denied by Parra, who had 10 saves overall.

At full time, the game ended in a goalless draw with Skyline looking visibly frustrated after having most of the scoring chances but unable to break through.

“I thought we played well,”said Skyline Head Coach Gabriel Saucedo. “We controlled the tempo, we had most of the possession; it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t get a goal in. It was a good result against a good team.”

Saucedo was pleased with Skyline’s ability to get 10 shots on goals, with more improvements to be made as they look towards their next games against Cañada and Ohlone.