It all came down to one game between valley rivals to determine the final seeding for the state tournament in Region 5. With both teams having already clinched a playoff spot, the Sky View and Mountain Crest girls soccer teams met Tuesday, battling to a 0-0 draw in double overtime.

“It’s not that we didn’t have our opportunities,” Mountain Crest head coach Dennis Giles said. “The kids came to play tonight. It went both ways, but that old-age finishing thing. They seemed to want to dance across the bar.”

It was a tale of two halves as the Bobcats controlled the first half, dominating possession and out-shooting the Mustangs 7-3. Sky View kept Mountain Crest’s goalkeeper busy throughout the first half, forcing four saves and consistently putting the ball in the 18-yard box from the wings.

But the tide turned coming out of the locker room as the Mustangs came out with urgency and patiently possessed the ball into the attacking third to create numerous opportunities. A Mountain Crest corner kick in the 61st minute nearly found the back of the net, but the shot was headed just inches wide.

The back and forth continued in overtime, as the teams traded shots and possession. But with 15 seconds remaining, the Mustangs appeared to break through for the game-winner.

A long ball over the backline allowed Mountain Crest to dribble deep into the 18-yard-box for a one-on-one with the Sky View goalkeeper, drawing the keeper out to challenge. A pass put the ball at the feet of Lacy Van Yperren with an empty net from 19 yards, but the junior was unable to keep the ball down and it struck the crossbar and sailed out-of-bounds as time expired.

“It was a lot of fun from a spectator point of view,” Sky View head coach Doyle Geddes said. “There was a lot of drama for a 0-0 game. We dodged a bullet there for sure, that was a bit of luck going our way. This was just kind of a punch-counterpunch game.”

The Bobcats finished 5-3-2 in Region 5 play, a game and a half better than the Mustangs at 4-5-1. Mountain Crest finished the 2012 regular season with a 7-8-1 record overall, and Sky View finished 6-8-2.

While the Bobcats had already clinched the region’s No. 2 seed, the Mustangs were playing for the No. 3 spot. With Logan’s loss earlier in the day to Box Elder, a win would have meant Mountain Crest would be the No. 3 seed, while a tie or a loss meant a No. 4 seed.

The two squads will begin state tournament play Oct. 9 at 4 p.m., Mountain Crest traveling to Timpanogos and Sky View hosting Timpview.

Published in cooperation with the Hard News Cafe. Original story is here.