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El Toro, San Dieguito : Tie, 0-0, in Girls’ Soccer : High schools: No. 1 Chargers play tough defense. Mustangs extend unbeaten streak to 41.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

When girls’ soccer powers Encinitas San Dieguito and El Toro squared off Thursday night, bragging rights between Orange and San Diego counties were at stake.

Thanks to some stellar defense, nothing was settled.

While a steady drizzle made the field slick, the two teams played to a scoreless tie at Mission Viejo High School.

The tie extended San Dieguito’s unbeaten streak to 41 matches, including a 5-0-1 mark this season. El Toro, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, is 6-0-1.

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“I’m not happy with a tie,” said Traci Jensen, El Toro’s senior goalkeeper. “It doesn’t decide anything. But it’s better than losing.”

Jensen had a lot to do with keeping El Toro out of the loss column. Three of the five saves she made were spectacular.

“She really played a good game,” El Toro Coach Kerry Krause said. “She’s a great goalkeeper.”

Alisha Davis and Tiffany Lona combined on the shutout for San Dieguito, each playing a half and combining for seven saves.

Like Jensen, Krause was disappointed El Toro didn’t knock off the two-time defending San Diego Division 3-A champion Mustangs and end their lengthy unbeaten streak.

“I’d have loved it if we had won,” said Krause, whose team had its own 42-match unbeaten streak ended last season. “But it really was a great match to watch.”

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With the momentum bouncing back and forth throughout the match, Jensen and San Dieguito Coach David Emmerson endured some anxious moments. That explains why Emmerson was glad to leave the field with his team’s unbeaten streak intact.

“We wanted some tough competition. We got it,” Emmerson said. “They really took it to us.

“I just wish there was a State championship. Maybe we could meet again.”

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