WATERVILLE — Ninety minutes settled nothing.

The Waterville and Erskine girls soccer teams played to a scoreless draw Monday night at Thomas College’s Smith Field in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference regular-season finale for a pair of playoff-bound sides.

Winslow enters the Class B North fray this week with a 7-4-3 mark and a three-game unbeaten streak, while Erskine heads into the B South tournament field at 10-2-2.

Winslow senior captain Grace Smith heads the ball away from Erskine defenders during a Class B crossover game Monday night at Thomas College in Waterville. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson

“It’s a good result,” Winslow coach Lacey Smith said. “It was a high-intensity game. I’m pleased with the all-around effort. We were disciplined on the defensive side and moved the ball well on the attacking side.”

The Black Raiders had three consecutive corner kicks to close out the 10 minutes of extra time, the second of which from Katie Doughty that Erskine keeper Taylor Shute (seven saves) punched out at the near post to keep things scoreless.

“That’s a good tie,” said Erskine coach Mike Falla, who expects his team to end up third in the final regional Heal point standings. “Those are well-earned points.”

The two teams resembled one another remarkably on Tuesday, buoyed by patient back lines that turned away speedy counter-attacking chances. Midfield possession constantly in flux, it afforded neither the Black Raiders or Eagles the luxury of breaking free to really endanger the attacking goal.

“Our defense was really good tonight. I’m really proud of how hard we played,” Shute said.

After a quiet first half dominated by the chess match taking place in the center of the park, things picked up significantly after the halftime break.

Winslow’s Carly Warn found Doughty on a cross in the 44th minute, but Doughty’s bid skipped a hair wide of the right post.

Erskine countered four minutes later through senior Haymonot Maynard, with Maynard’s late grounded cross finding Riley Reitchel standing dead center of the 18-yard box. Reitchel one-touched the bouncer, had Winslow goalkeeper Isabella Fleury beaten but the shot whistled wide of the left post.

“I think we played more of our style in the first half, but sometimes you just have to go with what the game’s giving you,” Smith said. “(Erskine) played pretty direct and hit the ball long a lot, but with us winning the ball and having to transition the ball quick, it’s sometimes just about finding the forwards.”

There were less invasive chances from both near the end of regulation time, but nothing producing a breakthrough.

Warn had the best opportunity of the opening stanza, just nine minutes after the action kicked off.

Grace Bilodeau expertly split the Erskine back line with a through ball along the turf, and Warn sprinted onto it at tight range. Racing off her goal line, Shute slid into Warn’s shot as the striker wound up for her crack at it — ushering the ball out of harm’s way.

“All I remember is coming out and her kicking the ball and thinking it was going to go right over me and into the goal,” Shute said. “It ended up just smacking me straight in the stomach.”

It was a quiet night’s work — albeit a tense one — between the sticks for both Fleury and Shute. Fleury finished with just three saves against an Erskine side that, though it applied consistent spells of pressure after the intermission, did not put a shot on target in the second half.

Falla said the job of keeping tabs on Warn — handled most notably by Eagle center back Summer Hotham — was a priority.

“Both coaches probably out-scouted each other. We knew who we had to take care of,” Falla said. “Carly’s a special player, and you have to be aware of where she is all the time. She only needs a moment. That was our whole thing. With special players like that, you just have to minimize their chances.”