If high school soccer matches were decided by scoring opportunities, shots on goal and time of possession, Tomah would have defeated La Crosse Aquinas Tuesday.

However, matches are decided by goals scored, and Tomah left the first-ever varsity match played at the new Veterans Field with an unsatisfying deadlock.

Aquinas repelled a barrage of Tomah scoring opportunities in the final 40 minutes and held Tomah to a 1-1 tie in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys matchup. It was the MVC opener for both teams.

“It’s a nasty sport sometimes,” said Tomah coach Scott Conzemius. “The tie sets us back a bit because of the new conference schedule.”

This season, teams play each other just once in the regular season, and the Timberwolves would relish another shot at an Aquinas team that gave up 20 shots on goal. However, the only shot that went through came in the 26th minute, seconds after Tomah goalkeeper Jared Dietzman made a difficult save off a Blugolds’ corner kick.

Jacob Dellamuth worked the ball toward the middle of the goalkeeper’s box and slid an in-stride pass to Travis Blinkiewicz, who pushed a crossing shot past Aquinas goalkeeper Mark Kruse for a 1-0 lead. It will go down as the first varsity goal ever scored at Veterans Field.

Aquinas nearly tied the match after kicking a shot off the pipe in the 30th minute, but the Blugolds didn’t waste an opportunity 25 minutes later, when Walter Ridgen scored off a free kick.

“They drew a foul in a dangerous area, and they put it away,” Conzemius said.

Ian Duncan almost tied the match in the 59th minute after drilling a free kick just inches over the goal post. After that, Tomah was totally dominant, rushing to the net nearly once a minute only to have Aquinas kick the ball clear.

“(Aquinas) was hanging back,” Conzemius said. “They always had six guys back, and it forced us to take some pretty far out shots. I think they were playing for the tie. If they could get a counter, they would go for it, but they spent the game hanging back.”

Tomah’s next home match is Sept. 16 vs. La Crosse Central in a 5 p.m. start at Veterans Field. The jayvees will play Central at 5 p.m. at the Tomah Veterans Administration Hospital Field. The jayvee game against Aquinas was cancelled due to a lack of Aquinas players.

BOX SCORE

Aquinas 0 1 0 0--1

Tomah 1 0 0 0--1

First half: T - Blinkiewicz (Dellamuth), 26:00.

Second half: A - Ridgen, 56:00.

Saves: A - Kruse 20. T - Dietzman 8.