Staff photo / Preston Byers Springfield’s Olivia Zitkovic, left, battles for the ball with Salem’s Karlie Sampson during Monday’s 2-2 tie in New Middletown.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — For both Springfield and Salem, it had been a few weeks since a loss or even a goal allowed.

While the string of shutouts ended for both teams, neither had their unbeaten streak snapped Monday in New Middletown, as Springfield converted two second-half penalty kicks to force a 2-2 tie.

“It was hard,” Springfield coach Justin Kosek said. “It was a hard-fought game… They play fast, which is what we needed. And it was a hard-fought game. They fought their tails off.”

The Tigers controlled the ball for most of the non-conference matchup, but the quality of their shots paled in comparison to that of Salem, which made the most of its attacking opportunities In the relatively little time it had possession.

Once they wrangled the ball away from the Tigers, the Quakers’ backs and midfield often immediately played the ball ahead to their forwards. The strategy did not result in many clean looks at the goal, with more than a few drifting too far on the rain-soaked turf, but nearly three-fourths of the way through the first half, a well-placed pass found Chaya Murray, who managed to fend off a defender and get a shot off.

The low shot squeaked past Springfield keeper a diving Ally Guerriero but hit the right post. Murray followed her shot, though, and finished off the attack for the first goal of the match.

The second goal arrived quickly once the second half began.

Much like the first goal, a pass penetrated the Springfield back line, allowing Karlie Sampson to catch up with the ball and finish with her left foot to put the Quakers ahead 2-0.

“It’s a good strategy. It’s hard to defend that when teams do it well,” Kosek said.

Down 2-0, Springfield went into what Kosek described as “panic mode.”

Playing with an evident greater sense of urgency, the Tigers relentlessly pursued the ball and went on the attack, which resulted in the first two critical penalties Monday evening.

Nearly 10 minutes into the second half, Salem was whistles for a foul in the box, giving Maddie Page the platform to pull within one on a successful penalty kick.

Over the final 30 minutes, both teams seemed to feel the pressure, with shots, takeaways, giveaways and counterattacks sending the 20 players up and down the Springfield pitch.

The Tigers had several chances to tie the match, and the Quakers, relying on their passes ahead, had more than a few windows to effectively ice it.

Unfortunately for Salem, another penalty in its box, this time with 2:41 remaining and seemingly in desperation before a Rylie Wolf shot attempt, brought Page back for another penalty kick.

Just like the first one, Page found the back of the net; instead of top left like earlier, Page opted for the right side of the net to tie the match.

“It is what it is. That’s the game,” Salem head coach Greg Davis said of the penalties. “I can agree with it, I can say whatever, but it’s his call. I may not agree with it, but that’s part of the game and you have to learn to live with it.”

A mad dash ensued for the final 161 seconds, with a Sampson shot being saved by Guerriero and a free kick and corner kick coming up empty for Salem.

Despite a last-second sprint halfway down the field, Springfield was unable to add another goal either before the final whistle blew.

“I felt like we had them on their heels for a little, and then they picked up the attack and put the pressure on us,” Davis said. “For the most part, we held them off real well. It took two penalty kicks for them to tie it, so extremely happy with the way the girls played tonight.”

Both teams return to conference play next.

Salem (8-2-3, 2-0-1 in Eastern Buckeye Conference) will be at Marlington on Wednesday, while Springfield (8-2-1, 2-1-0 in Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference) hosts Southeast on Thursday.