Sometimes a draw can feel more like a defeat, or more like a victory, depending upon your perspective.

So went the mood Saturday at Park Center High School, where Osseo School District rival Maple Grove slowed down and frustrated the host Pirates’ attack just enough to work its way to a 3-3 tie, despite being outshot 20-9.

Park Center, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A according to the coaches’ poll, sits atop the standings in the Northwest Suburban Conference, and a victory over the Crimson, last year’s champs, might have all but sealed the title for the Pirates this year.

Instead, the Pirates (10-2-2) will enter the final week of the regular season in the thick of a three-team race that includes Andover (9-4-0) and Anoka (10-3-0).

Against No. 9-2A Maple Grove, a draw is a draw, but it feels to the Pirates like this one get away.

“It’s never an easy game against Maple Grove, and this is exactly what we expected,” Park Center coach Sean McNattin says. “After the way this game went, it kind of feels like a tie is a win for Maple Grove. And for us, a tie feels more like a loss because of all the chances we had.”

Forward Fuad Tahir netted a goal and an assist as Park Center built an early 2-0 lead and took a 2-1 lead into halftime.

The opening half provided brief, but brilliant fragments of play for the Pirates, who were able to stretch the field and run wild at times.

“We’ve got skilled guys at every position, and it allows us to use everyone in the passing game and to set up the attack,” McNattin says. “One-two-three passes and then we move forward. We don’t possess the ball just to possess, we work it with a purpose, and it sets up our forwards pretty well.”

In the second, Maple Grove twice tied the game, first on Antonio Magadan’s goal less than four minutes in, and then again at 16:38 when a multi-player collision took place in front of the Pirates’ net off a free kick and the ball went into the net. Crimson sophomore Brody Carron was credited with the goal that leveled the score 3-3.

Maple Grove, the prototypical program in the Northwest Suburban when it comes to playing fast and hard, direct soccer, had to modify the game to suit its strengths, which this year happen to be a departure from that style.

Especially against Park Center. On this day, the Crimson were able to turn the tables just enough.

“It was working just to frustrate them and we were getting time to move the ball and do our thing,” Maple Grove coach Greg Leininger said. “The longer we kept things even, the worse it was for (Park Center). We know what it’s like, we’ve been on the other side of that last year, and it’s frustrating when a team like us can hold you. The pressure was building on them.”

Park Center’s last big chance came with 8:15 to play, when the Pirates were awarded their second penalty kick. Tahir took it again, though this time Maple Grove keeper Matt Hennessy would get a hand on it and squash the threat.

“We’ve had the upper hand the last few years, and we know that Park Center has a very good team that’s coming right at us,” Leininger said. “We know what kind of attack they bring, so we had to bunker in and do what we needed to do.

The Pirates, meanwhile, will look to close out the regular season at Osseo on Monday, and then on the road at Robbinsdale Armstrong (2-11-0) on Thursday.

Despite the missed opportunity, McNattin likes where he team is and how they have responded before to the ebbs and flows of a season.

“Last week was a bad week for us,” McNattin says. “Our team earned a high ranking and I think maybe we let it get to our heads a little bit. (Poor performances) against Centennial and Elk River brought us back down to reality. We entered this week humbled, and we finished with two wins and a tie against three good teams. I like where we are sitting now.”

A Class 2A top-10 showdown between two of the Northwest Suburban Conference's top teams lived up to its hype Saturday afternoon at Park Center's Pride Stadium, where the Pirates battled rival Maple Grove to a 3-3 draw.

Park Center, ranked No. 4 in this week's Class 2A coaches' poll, jumped out to a early 2-0 lead before the No. 9 Crimson slowed things down, turned things physical, and frustrated the speedy Pirates.

Trailing 3-2 with 16 minutes to play, Maple Grove netted the equalizer on a scrum in front of the Park Center net, where a collision sent players from both teams flying in all directions and the ball trickling into the net to level the score.

After regulation time, two scoreless overtime sessions followed before the match settled in a draw. 

The Pirates (10-2-2, 8-1-2) likely would have clinched first place in the conference standings with a victory, though the tie keeps them in the driver's seat with a slight lead on Andover and Anoka, which are tied for second place with 8-2 records.

Park Center has Osseo (6-3-2) and Robbinsdale Armstrong (2-11-0) remaining on its regular-season schedule. 

The Crimson's league record sits at 6-2-3 after the draw. Maple Grove (6-3-3) faces Andover and Anoka next week in games that should help sort out the top couple spots in the final Northwest Suburban standings.

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