It’s no surprise that goals were at a premium when Ford and Regina met Friday night in a non-league soccer game.

The Saddlelites’ offense is still evolving and the Falcons’ defense had its best game this season. When the 90 minutes were up, the teams were tied 1-1.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” said Regina coach Stefano Moraccini Sr. “We’ve got to fix that. We have to start finishing if we’re going to be successful.”

Jenna Moeller was the Saddlelites’ most dangerous offensive player. She scored Regina’s only goal on a rebound off the crossbar with 21:33 left in the first half.

“Jenna definitely creates some chance,” Moraccini said. “We have to get her some help up there. We talked after the game about how our forwards have to stay connected so they can connect passes together. It’s difficult to play striker by yourself. We’ve got to get some midfielders to come forward and get into the attack.”

Moeller had an excellent chance to break the tie in the final minutes of the game. She made a run down the field but Ford’s center midfielder, Maria Raciti, caught her and bothered her enough that she wasn’t able to get a clean shot off.

“The other center back and I stack a lot,” said Raciti, a three-year varsity player and a co-captain with Kayla McPherson. “She’ll take a girl and I’ll be right behind her. I’m pretty fast so I can get to the girl.

“We had a really strong defense today. We’ve worked a lot in practice, moving the ball in the back so we can get it forward. It really showed today.”

Falcons coach Chris Alston has a lot of faith in Raciti.

“The back line is hers to run,” he said. “We’re nothing without her.”

Corinne McGlassion played a strong game in goal for Ford.

“She’s coming off a big injury in the offseason and she’s kind of fighting her way through it,” Alston said of McGlassion. “She’s hampered by it but she’s gutting it out. She did what she needed to do to get the end result for us today.”Ford also had strong games from Maggie Castillo, McPherson and Lia Raciti.

Castillo scored the Falcons’ goal with 11:42 remaining in the second half. She was assisted by Maryam Alton.

“If we’re going to win we have to do it as a collective unit,” Alston said. “We don’t have a deep bench. The girls on the field need to go from beginning to end.”

Regina, which lost 1-0 to Country Day in the Division 3 regional semifinal last year, lost 10 seniors from that team, including three All-State players.

“You start rebuilding or reloading,” Moraccini said. “It’s a good group of girls. They play hard. They’re learning every day. Every game is better but we have to connect our passes and get more numbers up in the box to create more pressure.”

Regina’s defense is led by junior Kate Booms.

“She’s playing great soccer,” Moraccini said. “She’s a force — big, strong and tall. She organizes the defense very well.”

Two freshmen in the midfield — Elyse Mylnarek and Leah Burghardt — are playing well. Another freshman, Anna Booms, is starting at right back.

“We’re getting better in all phases,” Moraccini said. “As long as they improve every game, every practice we’ll be successful.”

The tie left Regina with a 1-1-2 record and Ford with a 1-2-2 mark.