NEW RICHMOND — The Blanchester boys soccer team tied New Richmond 1-1 Thursday in a non-league match on the NR turf.

The Lions held the upper hand in the first half and led 1-0 at the break, BHS coach Troy Ballinger said. The Wildcats have not lost but have tied twice this season.

In the second half, Blanchester was on the defense early but still made tactful attempts on offense, said Ballinger.

The Wildcats had a shot to tie when Logan Swinderman had a penalty kick in the final 10 minutes of regulation but “missed his mark high and to the right,” Ballinger said.

Soon after, BHS goalkeeper Dakota Penquite drove a punt downfield to Swinderman who deflected it out of the air to teammate Sam Schafer. Schafer raced down field and, according to Ballinger, “curved the ball around the keeper and into the bottom right corner of the goal.”

Ballinger said Penquite “played the game of the season” with 19 saves that proved his status as the top goalkeeper in the league.