It has been said that no team walks away happy from a tie.

That certainly wasn’t the case Wednesday when Morris and Streator played to a 1-1 tie to end the regular season in a nonconference matchup.

Streator entered the game with a 2-19 record, while Morris had won just one of its 20 games. The action, though, was as heated as it would be if a conference or regional title was on the line. It was senior night at Morris, and all six seniors on the roster - Gio Archer, Dylan Cleek, Griffyn Cowell, Hunter Lindenborn, Spencer Osafo and Omar Serna - were in the starting lineup for the final home game.

Streator (2-19-1) got on the board early when Isaac Fowler was able to negotiate a crowd in front of the goal and score with 34:05 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs kept the pressure on throughout the first half, but Morris goalkeeper Lindenborn was able to turn them away. Streator also had a goal waved off later in the first half on an offsides call.

When Morris got the ball into the Streator end, it was the Bulldog defense, spearheaded by sweeper Joe Hoekstra, that turned them away. Goalie Seth Zito made three saves in the first half as well, and the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Morris’ Grant Sparrow scored on a breakaway to tie the score with 20:12 to play, and both teams had several chances to score down the stretch. Streator’s Kam Darrow put a pair of shots on goal, but both were saved by Lindenborn, while Morris’ best chance came on a shot from Archer that was just wide. Late in the game, Morris’ August Valdivia had a direct kick from the 20-yard line, but Zito made the save to preserve the tie.

“This is fitting,” Streator coach JT Huey said. “These are two programs with a lot of respect for each other that are struggling this year, so it’s kind of fitting that it ended in a tie. Both teams came out and played with great energy, which is what you are looking for at this point of the season. They know they can compete and, with the regionals starting Saturday, everyone is 0-0 now.

“Both teams had structured attacks on offense and played great defense. I am not mad at a tie or a loss if we learn something from it, and we learned some things tonight. We are a young team after losing 12 seniors from last year, but these guys have shown they can play and compete, so we want to build on that.

“I thought Joe Hoekstra was a monster on defense for us, and Isaac Fowler had the goal and he also had some other plays where he had great angles and touches. We were getting leadership on both sides, and that was nice to see.”

Morris begins play in the Class 2A Marmion Academy Regional on Saturday, taking on Plano. The winner of that game will play top-seeded Marmion on Tuesday. Streator, meanwhile, will play in the Class 2A Ottawa Regional on Saturday against Illinois Math and Science Academy, with the winner taking on No. 2 seed LaSalle-Peru on Monday.

“These kids were out here playing because they love to play,” Morris coach David Valdivia said. “That’s what it’s all about. It has been a big learning season for us. We have had to teach the kids how to play through adversity.

“We have 11 juniors on this team that got a lot of experience that will help them next year. They all work their butts off, and that’s all we can ask for. These kids do things the right way, and they are a great example for the kids coming up.

“We get to play in the regional now and everyone’s record is 0-0. If we can continue to play hard against Plano like we did tonight, hopefully we can make the most of it and move on to play Marmion.”