The longer the game remained scoreless, the better it seemed the Helias Lady Crusaders played.
The Notre Dame de Sion Storm came into Tuesday's Class 3 soccer sectional undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state. But there were zeroes on the board at the half and stayed there with less than 10 minutes remaining before the Storm scored to edge the Lady Crusaders 1-0 at the 179 Soccer Park.
"We will not walk away hanging our heads," Helias coach Brad Dempsey said. "We had some great opportunities, we played great team defense, we followed our game plan.
"They just had a player make a play."
The Storm had the better of play early and finished with a 10-2 edge in shots in the first half. But a majority of those attempts came early as the Lady Crusaders withstood the rush.
"Early, I think we were a little scattered, but then we settled in and started to play our style," Dempsey said.
The best scoring chance in the first half for the Storm came with about 20 minutes on the clock when Krystal Brauner of the Lady Crusaders headed a ball off the line.
Things evened out in the second half, with Helias getting a handful of good scoring opportunities.
After Helias keeper Ashley Rehagen made a diving stop early in the half, the Lady Crusaders forced Storm keeper Afton Fennewald to respond by tipping a bouncing shot by Hannah Crane over the net at the 30-minute mark.
Kayla Yanskey of Helias put another strong shot on net five minutes later as the Lady Crusaders were not going to sit back and play defense.
"We were able to move forward, we just weren't able to get the goal we needed," Dempsey said. "We respect them, but we respect ourselves, too. We weren't going to just pack it in."
The Storm broke through with 9:29 remaining.
"They just kept pounding at it before they finally got one," Dempsey said.
Helias had a chance to tie it on a breakaway by Hannah Loethen about a minute later, but Fennewald came out of the net to smother the attempt.
"It was a real game," Dempsey said. "They're very good, I expect them to play for the state title again this season.
"I just wish it could have been us."
Both teams had eight shots in the second half.
Helias finishes the season at 12-11.
"A season is a process, a learning experience," Dempsey said. "It's a chance to better yourself, to test yourself and we did that this season.
"From where we started to where we finished this game, we can all walk away proud. It was impressive."
It was the final game for eight Helias seniors - Rehagen, Abby Shepard, Sarah Pierle, Torey Mueller, Lexy Lamb, Morgan Wieberg, Lanie Hentges and Yanskey.
"Our seniors set the standard for senior classes, we hope every senior class from her out follows their example," Dempsey said.
It also was the final home game for Helias at the 179 Soccer Park. The boys and girls program's will play next season at the new facility at the school.
Notre Dame de Sion (21-0), the two-time defending state champion, will host Kearney (19-4) in the quarterfinals Saturday. Kearney edged Grain Valley 2-1 in its sectional Tuesday.