ABOVE: Fairmont's Luis Martin Battles for possession with United Wings' Daniel Mazariegos in a Big South Conference boys soccer game Tuesday in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT- Fairmont tied St. James 1-1 in a Big South conference soccer match on Tuesday night. Fairmont falls to 0-1-2 on the season, with its last two games ending in a draw.

“I really appreciate the effort these guys gave throughout the entire game,” Fairmont soccer head coach Brady Meyer said. “We kept on having chances and opportunities to score, but unfortunately we couldn’t find the back of the net. They were giving us those options or opportunities, our guys are frustrated but yet they’re feeling pretty good about how well they played.”

Despite both teams threatening in the first half, the defense held strong, with neither allowing a goal in the first 45 minutes of the game. Fairmont had a few open looks but was unable to capitalize on those opportunities. Fairmont goalkeeper Brody Deuel was able to keep Wings United from scoring despite the pressure of their offense.

Opening the second half, the back-and-forth continued until Fairmont got their first opportunity off the foot of Marco Morales Chavez, which was saved by Wings United goalkeeper Eric Zamora. The offensive pressure by Fairmont continued to create opportunities, but they were unable to find the back of the net through the first 18 minutes of the half until a goal in the 27th minute by Leonardo Fortin, assisted by Maro Morales Chavez, opened the scoring for Fairmont. A Fairmont penalty set the Wings United up with a penalty kick in the 22nd Minute of the game, allowing the tying goal to find its way to the net off the foot of Lenin Corrales.

Both teams’ defenses found their footing despite having multiple shots on goal, and nothing was able to find the back of the net. The teams traded possession for the last 20 minutes of the match until one final push by Wings United was shut down by Deuel.

“That was kind of one of our pushes for the second half was to try to get more shots and try to get them off quicker, something we were lacking in the first half,” Meyer said. “Once we started shooting more, we had more opportunities and that’s how we ended up getting the goal. Unfortunately we couldn’t get another one.”

Fairmont’s next game is 5 p.m. Thursday against Marshall at Jeffrey Kot soccer complex.