Unfortunately for South Johnston's soccer team, that's exactly what they did in settling for a 1-1 Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference tie Wednesday with visiting Harnett Central.

After Edgar Herrera's booming first half goal had given South a 1-0 lead, South Johnston 'unintentionally' settled back into a defensive posture for the final 60 minutes of regulation.

That style of play came back to bite South, as Central, putting on a furious second-half attack, broke through with 5:30 left in regulation.

Neither team managed to score in overtime, although Herrera gave the fans a last-minute thrill, when his wide-open opportunity with 59 seconds to play bounced just wide of the right post.

The result left South 4-5-1 overall while moving to 3-3-1 in the CFVC with a pair of league tests against Conference-leading Triton this week. Central, which defeated South 3-1 earlier this season, exited 6-7-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the CFVC.

Making his return to the lineup after missing a majority of the season with a hyperextension of his right knee, Herrera was a force throughout the day for South.

He gave South a boost 19 minutes into the match, launching a shot from 40 yards out after receiving a left-to-right cross from Kelly Parker.

His blast cleared the head of Central's keeper Hampton Howell and dropped into the goal for a 1-0 lead, setting off jubilation on the South sideline.

"I think that was such a moment for everyone when he scored," said South coach Jeremy Byrd. "It was like, 'It's finally back - he's back - that (Herrera's missing offense) is back'."

But along with the jubilation came a sense of relaxation, as South stopped attacking and assumed the defensive stance.

"It was unintentional," Byrd said. "We've told the guys when you put a goal on somebody, the next 10 minutes is the most vulnerable time for you.

"Sometimes scoring a goal is the worst thing you can do - you tend to sit back and relax - and we watched for the next half."

Central tried to take advantage, mounting offensive after offensive, only to come up empty, thanks to South keeper Garrett Jackson and his defensive backfield mates.

Jackson, who totaled 12 saves in the match, made a pair of spectacular saves in a 35-second span.

The first save was a leaping backhanded flick over the crossbar of a header by Jose Ochoa off a corner kick with 26:20 left in regulation.

Then 35 seconds later, Jackson made a diving stop of a 15-yard blast from the upper left corner of the box by Wesley Bautista.

Jackson continued to deny Central, coming up with another sensational stop with 10:45 left in regulation, with a kick save at the right post of a shot by Antonio DeLeon.

Jackson wasn't alone in turning back Central, however. He had a lot of help from his supporting cast of backline players in Joseph Thorton, Reed Johnson, Adam Parrish and Cory Poston.

But their work went for naught when Jeremy Fish took a cross on the right sideline in South's defensive third, broke to the middle of the field and beat Jackson, who had come off his line to challenge the attack.

Fish pushed his shot by Jackson to level the score with 5:30 to play.

South controlled the first 20 minutes of the match, while Central had trouble keeping up with Herrera and the Trojans' forwards.

But that changed after Herrera's goal. Central held a 21-14 edge in shots and 7-3 in corners.

Central was whistled for 24 fouls in the match, 14 in the first half, while South was guilty of 21 infractions.

Both teams were called six times for being off sides.

"I think we played better in the overtimes than we did in the second half," Byrd said. "I think 1-1 is the right score for tonight. I'm very pleased with a draw."