The Hinckley-Big Rock/Somonauk/Leland and Serena/Newark/Earlville co-op girls soccer teams each played solid throughout Thursday’s match in Serena.

The host Huskers held a one goal lead at halftime, but the Royals scored the tying goal in the opening moments of the second half.

From the there, while each side had its chances, neither could find the back of the net again and the match ended in a 2-2 tie.

“I feel like as a team we’ve come a long way this season,” said Elizabeth Vazquez, an Earlville junior. “We’ve made so much improvement. It took a while for all us to figure things out, but we’re getting there. We would have obviously liked to win today, but I thought we played really well.”

Both teams are now 3-6-3 on the season.

“I thought we played well today,” said Hannah Liakas, an H-BR senior. “Communication is something we’ve been really talking about at practices, and I think we did a good job in that area. Another big thing we’ve talked about is passing the ball into open spaces for teammates. It’s something we’ve really improved on as the season has gone along.”

The Huskers grabbed the early lead in the 14th minute on Vazquez’s fifth goal of the season.

“The defense had pushed up a little bit after a goal kick, but one of my teammates stole the ball and kicked it forward,” Vazquez said. ”I just started sprinting toward it and was able to get to it first. I took a couple dribbles but then I saw the keeper was rushing out toward me. I just made a quick kick and somehow the ball went under her as she was sliding out to stop it."

The Royals responded six minutes later, tying the match on a highlight reel goal by Evelyn White.

“I was running down the center of the field and the ball deflected right to me in stride,” said White, a Somonauk freshman. “I didn’t think any defenders were in front of me, so I kicked it right away. As it turns out, there was a defender there, but fortunately it deflected off her, changed direction, and the keeper wasn’t able to react.

“It was just one of those moments where you’re in the right place at the right time.”

S/N/E recaptured the advantage with just under two minutes remaining in the opening half as Kendra Lewanski scored off an assist from Monica Sotelo.

“There was a big scramble in front of the net and finally [Monica] came up with the ball,” said Lewanski, a Serena sophomore. “She made a great pass to me on the right wing, and I was able to get a good shot off.

“It was one of those moments when I really wasn’t expecting the ball to come toward me and all of a sudden, it was. I’m just happy I was able to make a goal after a really great pass.”

H-BR/S/L tied the match for good six minutes into the second half as Liakas scored on a 25-yard strike.

“I had the ball on my left foot then dribbled back to my right. I had a defender coming at me and not much time to really think,” Liakas said. “I just shot it. I saw the keeper jump for it and I thought she had it. But I guess I put enough on the shot to get it over her. I was pretty excited to see that it actually went in.”

Royals’ keeper Rachel Dean, a Leland junior, made five saves, while the Huskers’ Katelyn Hoffman, a Serena freshman, recorded three saves.

The hosts held an 11-9 advantage in overall shots and 5-4 lead in corner kicks.

S/N/E is back in action Tuesday at St. Bede, while H-BR/S/L is off until their regional opener against host Mendota on March 18.