The Saints and Lancers both had plenty of chances to score on Wednesday at Santa Ana Stadium. Neither team, however, could find the goal in this nonleague boys soccer match, which ended in a scoreless tie.

The Lancer had several good touches in the first half, a half that they dominated, but Orange Lutheran coach Steve Harder said his team didn’t do a good enough job anticipating where the next pass was headed.

“I think out guy need to work on seeing what is going to happen on the next play. We are a little slow on those, but we are improving. A month ago, we would have lost this game by a goal,” he said. “It was just one of those days where the defenses held up. Both teams played great.”

But Orange Lutheran had the star of the game – goalkeeper Jake Mueller. He stopped two point-blank shots, one of the first half, the other in the second.

In the 28^th minute, Santa Ana left winger Jose Perez picked up a loose ball in the box, and while he dribbled around a defender, he flicked the ball in the air and fired a shot right at Mueller. Mueller knocked it down to record one of his nine saves.

Then five minutes into the second half, the Saints’ Miguel Cheluca tried to sneak the ball around the right post, but once again, the Lancers’ goalie was there to stop it.

The Saints, it appears, suffered from the same problem that plagued the Lancers on Wednesday

“We developed a lot chances, but we just couldn’t get that final touch … that’s where we’ve got to get it done,” Santa Ana coach Joe Penaflor said. “We are working on that now. We are just trying to find the right guys.”

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