East Lyme - Some of the names have changed for the East Lyme High School boys' soccer team this season, but they're showing the same resilience that last year's club had.

James Foster headed a ball in with 50.9 seconds left in regulation as the Vikings played Norwich Free Academy to a 2-2 tie in the first meeting between the two Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division rivals.

"Last year's team was different in that we struggled scoring goals like crazy," East Lyme coach Paul Christensen said. "We had eight 1-0 wins and five overtime games. We haven't lost in over two years, maybe longer. We just don't lose in overtime.

"It was good to see that this team had that fight in that overtime."

Both teams are 1-0-1 overall and 0-0-1 in the division.

The Vikings' Nick Delesdernier took a free kick with less than a minute left and Foster managed to knock the ball in with his noggin.

"It was a great ball," East Lyme's Quintin Parsons said. "I thought I got a hair on it and James Foster knocked it in. We battled back … 50 seconds left and we put one away to tie up the game. I couldn't be more proud of my boys."

"It was a good game," NFA coach Rob Briones said. "Unfortunately, we had a lack of concentration in the last 50 seconds. I thought we had it. We should've come out of here with a W, but that's part of the game. They had some chances and our keeper made some really good saves for us."

NFA goalie Seth Strader showed his mettle in overtime as he flustered the Vikings on three separate occasions. He punched one shot up and away from the net with over three minutes left in the first overtime, then slapped away another shot less than two minutes later.

Strader had another save in the closing seconds of the second overtime. He finished with 12 saves.

"He's a good keeper," Briones said. "There's no question about it."

East Lyme also had a shot off of a corner kick that hit the crossbar with over four minutes left in that second overtime.

"We had a lot of opportunities," Christensen said. "Just unlucky, and you have to credit NFA and (Strader). He literally saved them on three or four occasions."

Matt Sylvestre gave NFA the initial lead when he headed in a high, looping pass from teammate Andris Vital with over 17 minutes left in the first half.

East Lyme's Parsons tied it over six minutes later on a pass from Mitch Ryan.

It looked as if NFA had finally put the game away when Vital used his speed to pull away from two defenders toward the right crossbar and managed to bend a shot into the net with over seven minutes left in regulation.

"He's the fastest kid in the state of Connecticut in the (outdoor) 100 meters," Briones said. "He was the (Open) state champion. (He shot it) without an angle, too. It was a beautiful goal."

Foster later foiled NFA with his game-tying goal.

"We're happy," Briones said. "It was important to see where we stand. We're young. We have a lot of kids who're starting for us and it's their first time on varsity, so I'm happy with the outcome we had."

"It was a good test for us early in the season," Christensen said. "I was really pleased with the character they showed when they got down."

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED