Plymouth's Jessica Hoeffler (12) fights CGA's Cameron O'Banion on a throw-in. pilot photo/paul dendiu

PLYMOUTH - While Annie Swihart couldn't stop the clouds from raining on Kindt Field, she kept Culver Academy from raining goals on the Plymouth girls soccer team.

Swihart had 12 saves on Wednesday night and the Lady Rockies held CGA's potent offense in check in a 0-0 tie.

The constant downpours and muddy field conditions didn't bother Plymouth (8-2-5), which was coming off Tuesday's scoreless game against NorthWood.

"This weather is beautiful. It's absolutely made for soccer," Plymouth coach Curt Feece said. "I would not want to take the opportunity away from the girls to play in this weather. They all wanted to play. They know how good CGA is. They wanted to take their shot and try to knock them off."

Evan Hoese, Kendra Andrie, Cameron O'Banion and the rest of CGA's defense didn't allow the Rockies to take many shots. Plymouth was limited to three (two on goal), all coming in the first half.

"I don't think anyone was going to score tonight. The field just turned into mush. We like to play a passing game and that was sort of impossible out here," Culver Academy coach Harry Canellakis said. "We've been strong at the back all year. Our defense has kept us in a lot of games and they had to be big tonight with this type of environment."

Swihart saved six shots in the first half, including consecutive attempts by Ana Tosi during the opening five minutes. The Eagles nearly scored when Jenna Iwaniec's 35-yard free kick hit the crossbar in the first minute of the second half.

"I thought we had more quality chances. For us to generate that type of offense in this type of weather is good," Canellakis said.

Plymouth missed its best chance for a goal two minutes later. Holly Morris placed a corner kick right in front of the net with at least two players in position to take shots. Neither one could make a clean kick and CGA cleared the ball.

Swihart blocked three more attempts in a 1:15 span between the 54th and 55th minutes. She denied star fowards Kelly Alyea and Emma Clark two times each in the second half.

"Annie is a beast. She stopped anything that came anywhere close to her," Feece said. "You never know what CGA is going to bring. They're always competitive. They have a lot of skills and they move the ball around well."

Plymouth and Culver Academy could meet again on October 15 for the sectional championship.

"We didn't get it done tonight, but we've got a week and a half to prepare for sectionals. We're going to build and refine our offense a little more," Feece said. "We haven't capitalized on opportunities. For the first time all season, I saw our girls going full speed, crashing the goal and actually putting in a threat. That has to become the norm if we're going to compete in the sectional."

PLYMOUTH 0, CULVER ACADEMY 0
At Plymouth
Shots on goal: CGA 12, Plymouth 2.
Saves: CGA 2 (Alexia Clay), Plymouth 12 (Annie Swihart).
Corner kicks: CGA 4, Plymouth 2.
Records: Plymouth 8-2-5, CGA 10-0-2.
JV score: Plymouth 1, CGA 0.