The field hockey teams at South Carroll and No. 15 North Carroll had ruled with defense in the first part of this season. The teams outscored their opponents by a combined 24-0 before yesterday's meeting when the seemingly immovable objects finally budged - a little.

North Carroll's Lisa Engel and Jessica Naper of visiting South Carroll got second-half goals, and even though the Cavaliers came up with numerous other scoring chances, the two teams battled to a 1-1 overtime tie.

South Carroll (3-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 in county and Central Maryland Conference) applied most of the offensive pressure in this game - and met a tough Panthers defense led by goalie Brittany Wigley (six saves). The Cavaliers kept the ball in the North Carroll end for long stretches, holding a 13-6 advantage in shots and dominating the first of the two 10-minute overtime periods.

"I thought we controlled most of the game," South Carroll coach Erin Soulen said. "We had tons of opportunities. We walked away with a lot of confidence today despite the score."

Wigley made the game-saving play in the first overtime when South Carroll pushed a loose ball into the North Carroll end. Instead of letting South Carroll's Allie Armitage get the ball and come in on a breakaway, Wigley ran out of the goal and tied up the Cavalier about 10 yards away.

Wigley helped push the ball to the right, where Armitage jumped over and got off a shot - which the goalie somehow kicked away at the last second.

"I was always taught to be aggressive," Wigley said. "I wanted to tie her up. I know someone will always have the post."

But the Panthers (4-0-2, 2-0-1 county, 0-0-2 CMC) scored on their first shot on goal. The Cavaliers stopped for a moment because the ball had popped into the air, thinking the official would halt play. The game continued, however, and Engel alertly fired a shot in from the top of the circle with 16 minutes, 16 seconds left.

South Carroll kept its pressure on and tied the game when Naper converted on a perfect feed from Brittany Woodfield with 10:52 left.

"Our defense withstood a lot of pressure," North Carroll coach Denean Koontz said.