NDCL, Geneva battle to a draw

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and Geneva battled to a 0-0 nonconference draw Sept. 21 at SPIRE Institute.

The Lions (5-4-1) were the better side in the attack, generating 10 corners and seven shots on target, but hit the left football goalpost three times by the 16th minute to set the tone for a lamentable evening.

“We all remember these games as players and as coaches at some point,” NDCL coach Marco DiFranco said. “It’s just one of those games where it’s tough to score. They do a very good job of organizing, defending, battling. It’s tough to get one in.

“This is a game I would have been thrilled with a 1-0 victory and walked out of here and been fine with it. Yeah, it’s a little bit unfortunate, 0-0, but we did some good things we can build on. We’ve got a lot of games left, and hopefully we might see these guys again, too.”

The Lions displayed some good attacking flow and capability on restarts, including a Zach DeRespiris free kick and subsequent Charlie Joyce rebound look in the opening 40 that were saved by Eagles goalkeeper Joe Carley.

Geneva (5-2-3) nearly had a dream start in the opening minute, when Alex Lechintan served a pacey through ball into space on the ground for Grant Mihalick, and a Kevin Allen strike from distance went high.

Allen was unlucky in the aftermath of a corner kick in the 61st minute when a right-footed effort dinked off the crossbar.