It took 100 minutes of play to get it, but Nate Rex was able to grab his first career shutout for the Northern Lehigh soccer team.

Unfortunately for the sophomore goalkeeper, the Bulldogs had to settle for a 0-0 tie with Palisades after two overtimes in a Colonial League battle.Rex would have surely liked a win to compliment his first-ever varsity shutout, but he admitted that he will still remember it forever."I'm happy about the shutout that's for sure," Rex said. "It doesn't hurt that much though about not getting a win because I knew my team pushed it until the end."I will definitely remember this game throughout my high school career. And, of course, I'm sure they're all as happy about the game as I am."It was evident that they were. As the team approached the sideline after the game, every single one of the Bulldogs approached their first-year keeper and gave him a pat on the back.No one was prouder of the young keeper though than first-year mentor Rick Jones."Rex was phenomenal," Jones said. "He's only a sophomore and he definitely plays like he's a junior or a senior. He really had the heart out there today to get his first shutout of the season."It was great to see a nice save on a penalty kick as well. He really kept us in this game."While the majority of his 14 saves weren't that tough to get his hands on, there was a moment in the second half in which Palisades' coach Dennis Gluck wished Rex wouldn't have gotten his grasp on the ball.With 6:44 left in the second half, the Pirates (5-3-1 overall; 4-3-1 CL) were awarded a penalty kick for a foul inside the box. Palisades' Matthew Moninghoff drilled a shot to the lower left of the net, but Rex stretched himself across the ground and pulled the ball into his chest to preserve the shutout.Still, he was equally impressed with one characteristic that Rex portrayed out there."We had some opportunities, but I think if we would have capitalized on one of those penalty kicks it would have been a different result," Gluck said. "It didn't happen that way because of (Rex). He looked very confident in there. We had a couple of good opportunities. We're a little young too as we have a lot of sophomores out there trying to score goals."His confidence was growing throughout the game. I'm hoping my sophomores can have that same type of confidence."Moments later Rex was forced to face another penalty kick with 1:41 left in the second overtime. This time, the Pirates' Colin Marsden lifted the ball too high and it sailed over the top post."We played aggressive back there, which I was glad for," Rex said. "I'll do it again for my team. Any time."Rex may have stole the spotlight for the Bulldogs (1-4-1 CL), but Jones is still looking for answers on how to score the next time his team takes 12 shots."We're still trying to find a natural forward," Jones said. "I'm trying to get through with the guys we have. They'll find it sooner or later."The phenomenal thing is they went out and gave it their best. To get the first shutout of the season is a nice result. We didn't get the 'W', but we really played our hearts out and it was great to see them do that."