The result wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but legendary head coach Horst Richardson received a tie for coaching his 900th game at Colorado College.

Despite launching 32 total shots, including seven on target, the Tigers battled Whitman College to a scoreless deadlock in the season opener for both teams on a steamy Friday afternoon at Stewart Field.

“The 34-7 advantage in total shots is encouraging,” Richardson said. "We moved the ball well and created several scoring opportunities. We had some wonderful combination play.”

The teams combined for just three shots on goal during the first half, but the Tigers nearly got on the board when sophomore forward Ryan Huettel knocked the paint off the crossbar from 25 yards out.

CC took control midway through the second half and consistently began to generate scoring chances. Huettel sent a shot over the crossbar from the right edge of the box with 18:35 to play, while senior forward Brandon Ogilvie missed from 15 yards out with 1:47 remaining in regulation.

The best opportunities for the Tigers occurred in the second minute of overtime when senior forward Sean Parham and freshman forward Caden MacKenzie had shots from in front of the left post blocked, and junior forward Stuart Beezely sent an attempt over the bar a few seconds later.

Junior goalkeeper Stuart Ellsworth of Whitman finished with seven saves, including a diving stop on Ogilvie’s blast from 35 yards out with 44 seconds to play in the second overtime. Ogilvie nearly scored a golden goal with three seconds to go, but his header from the center of the box sailed wide of the left post.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ian Horne made one save while earning his first shutout for CC.

“The defense played an admirable game, and junior co-captain Andrew Worthington did a great job of keeping everyone organized,” Richardson said. “Horne made a couple of big plays in his first collegiate start, which will help his confidence grow.”

Colorado College returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Sunday against the University of Texas at Dallas. Whitman plays UTD on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“I’ll take a tie for my 900th game,” Richardson said. “The important thing is we have a solid game under our belts. Sunday’s game will be more difficult.”

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