There was plenty of effort Thursday, but not a single goal scored between West Forsyth and North Forsyth at Raider Valley.

There were offensive opportunities for both teams, and North (4-1-1) came closest to breaking the deadlock when a ball hit the crossbar during the second half.

“It didn’t go our way. We didn’t have as many shots as I’d like to have seen, but I think we possessed the ball quite well tonight,” said North coach Calter Moore. “We controlled it a little better than our last game … and showed what we can do with the possession.”

Just a day after an exhausting penalty shootout loss, the fatigued Wolverines (3-1-2) found it difficult to establish rhythm and came close to trailing after six minutes.

Catching the defense off guard, North striker Jenny Bulley elected to chip goalkeeper Hannah Garcia but sent her effort wide.   

The visitors took 14 minutes to carve their first clear-cut opportunity — one that would have been a goal on any other night. Allie Sweeney, out wide and trailing the goal line, sent an incisive cross to Sasha Tadros, who flicked the ball narrowly wide.  

West created little else in the first half, with their opponents gaining an edge in possession and shots in a goalless 40 minutes. Taylor Hackney also came close for North — neatly turning a defender but shooting at Garcia — before teammate Heather Yates sent a header over the cross bar off a 26th minute corner.

There was little other first-half action. Moves continuously broke down before reaching the penalty box in the face of well-organized defenses and a rain-soaked playing surface.

“Throw in West” and “throw in Raiders” were the most frequent phrases coming from the press box following the second-half kickoff until North sparked a little life into the action by nearly taking the lead after 49 minutes. A ball played inside the penalty area was met by Taylor Hackney, who smashed a rising shot against West’s crossbar.

But the stalemate was back on, with neither team forcing a noticeable edge. West’s Sweeney looked certain to break the deadlock in the final 10 minutes but was flagged for offside in the goal mouth while trying to get on the end of a threaded cross.

Tadros then sent goalkeeper Laura Berry scrambling in the 76th minute with a long-distance strike that flew past the post.

“It’s the third game this week and we just ran out of gas,” said West coach Peter Valentino. “But it was nice to see they played a lot better together tonight than they did last night … we’re very pleased with that.”