APEX — East Chapel Hill and Apex had battled for almost 76 minutes to a 0-0 standstill on March 5 when the Wildcats’ Taylor Boone sent a shot flying high to the upper left corner of the goal.

Luckily for Apex, junior goalie Mari Edwards leaped back with her arms outstretched to the left, snagging the ball and preserving a tie between two of the state’s best girls’ soccer teams.

“Mari came up with an incredible save, so I was happy to see that,” said Apex coach Kevin Todd.

The Cougars’ coach has also been happy to see Apex stand tough against two of the state’s best teams.

While the tie didn’t give Apex another early-season win, it certainly provided the Cougars with a litmus test as to where they stand among the state’s best competition.

Apex lost five seniors from its undefeated state-championship team last season, but this year’s squad is still a veteran bunch. Eleven seniors return on a team that has already faced heavyweights Leesville Road and East Chapel Hill.

Despite falling 1-0 to Leesville, the Cougars stand at 1-1-1 and have gained some crucial experience from playing the Pride and Wildcats.

“We’ve played two of the hardest teams in the state and played them well,” said senior defender Katy Dodd.

And Todd pointed out you learn a lot more about a team early on from scheduling those tough out-of-conference matches.

“These are two outstanding teams that would stack up against the best teams in our conference,” Todd said.

But more importantly, it’s about using challenging early-season games to find strengths and weaknesses before the meat of the Tri-Eight season.

So, what have the Cougars learned so far?

“We’ve done well in getting runs in the back and executing. We just need to work on finishing,” said senior Shelby Bullock. “I think that’s our biggest thing.”

That was evident against East Chapel Hill as the Cougars created opportunities to score but just couldn’t put the finishing touch on a goal.

Many of Apex’s shots simply sailed over the crossbar or were just too far to the left or right and hit the post.

“It just comes down to being able to have the attitude to score. It’ll come this season,” Todd said. “It will come when we learn the technique to score, following our shots and making our shots on target.”

The defense, meanwhile, has made significant strides. In the first three games, including a 4-1 win over Millbrook, the Cougars have allowed just two goals.

“Our defense does a great job of getting back and tackling,” said senior forward Kelly Dodd.

The next challenge for Apex will be the Tri-Eight schedule, which begins this week.

The Cougars were to play Athens Drive on Monday and Middle Creek tonight (Wednesday).