Despite Williamsport goalkeeper Maxwell Fink’s resounding effort in goal, Central Mountain (4-2-2) managed to overcome a second-half deficit for the second time this week, erasing Williamsport’s 1-0 lead with 30 minutes left in regulation. From there, 50 minutes of physical, chaotic soccer came and went without another score, as the teams settled at a 1-1 draw in double overtime.

For the Wildcats, the draw was their second of the week, with the team tying Selinsgrove 3-3 on Tuesday in a game where they overcame three separate deficits. While the goal is always to take home the victory, head coach Billy Hook was happy to escape the week without a loss and proud of his team for hanging in there.

“We obviously wish we could have won. But going down 1-0, coming back in a chaotic game and surviving with the tie, we’ll take it,” said Hook. “Four times in a row we’ve gone down, come back and gotten two ties out of it. So, I love our heart.”

After surrendering a goal to the Millionaires early, with Williamsport junior Levi Gair breaking through a three-man wall and hitting a shot in the bottom-right corner of the net, the Wildcats would trail for just under 40 minutes of game time, working tirelessly to create opportunities while falling just short time and time again.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Tim Brinker (10) and Williamsport’s Levi Gair (8) battle for the ball during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

Three separate breakaways were thwarted by Fink and two great shots at the end of the first half were just off the mark, with Griffin Confer grazing the top-left goal post and Dylan Bechdel skating a ball past the right side of the goal. With that, the Wildcats went into the break facing a hill to climb.

But despite the shortcomings, those opportunities would remain prevalent through the early goings of the second half, with one such chance ending with the ball in the back of the net.

Ten minutes into the period, Confer got the ball to Bechdel on the left hash about 20-30 yards out. Bechdel got past a Williamsport defender, set himself up for a shot and delivered a laser to the right side of the goal, scraping it past Fink’s outstretched hands to get the Wildcats on the board.

From there, Central Mountain continued to dominate in terms of possession, box opportunities and shots, outshooting the Millionaires 11-2 in the stanza. But while the Williamsport wall briefly broke, it quickly mended itself and would never break again.

Fink finished with 17 saves, hindering those aforementioned breakaways, positioning himself well on Central Mountain’s onslaught of shots on goal and most notably blocking two separate shots – one coming off an immediate rebound – with three minutes to go in regulation. The back line defended well against constant pressure, and the defensive unit as a whole allowed zero goals on 12 corner kicks.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Kullen McDermit (33) and Williamsport’s Issac Balza (10) battle for the ball during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

“(Fink) had quite a few saves tonight, and I think Spencer Kaar and Charles (Plummer) provided great leadership in the back that helped everybody out,” said Williamsport head coach Brett Hofstrom on his defense’s performance. “Just the effort and determination by our players was so visible tonight.”

“Their goalie played unbelievably,” emphasized Hook. “I just told them, sometimes you just can’t crack it. You’ve just got to keep your head up. Tomorrow will be a bunch of finishing and hopefully next game, we’ll get 2-1.”

For Williamsport, the going has been tough since its 2-0 start, as it’s had to work around injuries amidst a tough stretch of competition. But with its effort on Thursday, outlasting a successful Central Mountain squad and making the most of its sparse scoring opportunities, Hofstrom felt it could serve as a turning point moving forward.

“Our players battled for 100 minutes tonight. Missing some key starters, we scraped out a tie against a very good team. I’m just proud of the boys,” said Hofstrom. “We’re young in some spots but we’ve got some kids getting great experience. Hopefully we can start getting some W’s because we have the talent to do it.”

Both teams are set to continue battling their way through a tough Heartland-I conference next Tuesday, with the Millionaires starting their league schedule off with a tie and Central Mountain beginning theirs with two ties. Next up, Williamsport faces Shikellamy on the road, and the Wildcats will take on Milton at home.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Gabryel Killinger (32) and Williamsport’s Adoniram Hill (14) race for the ball during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

Those games are set for 4:30 and 7 p.m., respectively.

Central Mountain 1, Williamsport 1

First-half scoring:

W – Levi Gair (Brayden Jarrett), 27:40.

Second-half scoring:

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Dylan Bechdel (24) moves the ball down field during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

CM – Dylan Bechdel (Griffin Confer), 30:16.

Shots: CM 28, W 6. Shots on goal: CM 19, W 2. Corners: CM 12, W 1. Saves: CM 1 (Jaggar Pardoe); W 17 (Maxwell Fink).

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport goalie Max Fink kicks the ball out of the box during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Collin Confer (22) and Williamsport’s Adoniram Hill (14) battle for the ball during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain goalie Jaggar Pardoe (00) stops a shot on the goal during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport’s Dumfer Adjei-Frimpong (7) protects the ball from a Central Mountain defender during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain’s Thomas Croce (9) and Williamsport’s Levi Gair (8) battle for control of the ball during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain goalie Jaggar Pardoe (00) reaches to stop a shot on the goal during a high school boys soccer match between Williamsport and Central Mountain on Thursday at Balls Mills Soccer Club.