DURHAM — The Bull City boys’ soccer showdown between Jordan and Southern Durham turned into a defensive showcase Wednesday.

The Falcons and the Spartans tied 0-0 as both teams’ physicality, and Southern Durham’s stellar goalkeeping, kept them scoreless. Southern Durham notched its first clean sheet of the season, and Jordan completed its seventh straight game without conceding a goal.

“I think (Southern Durham) is probably one of the most disciplined teams that we’ve played,” Jordan coach José Santibañez said. “They’re kind of sitting in with a back five, too. (They) work really hard.”

The first half belonged to Jordan. The Falcons held most of the possession and collected six corners to Southern Durham’s one in the opening period. Neither team took many shots in the first 40 minutes of play, but Santibañez thought his team’s impatience on offense led to the few opportunities not resulting in points.

“I think as the game went on, we became a little more patient,” Santibañez said. “And just everybody did their job.”

Southern Durham survived the first half by sticking by its defensive game plan.

“We wanted to make sure that they don’t go to the middle,” Southern Durham coach Foster Kyei said. “We didn’t care if they crossed the ball from outside. We were going to be fine. As long as we protected the middle, it would be good.”

Kyei also praised his team’s mental focus throughout the game, especially the focus of freshman goalkeeper Angel Hernandez. Hernandez, who stepped into the starting role after Sean Centeno suffered an injury in the first game, put together key saves and stops at the end of each half. He made sure Jordan’s stretch of consecutive corners late in the first half came up empty, and he made multiple diving saves in the final 20 minutes of the game.

“We had to throw him in the fire,” Kyei said. “This is probably his best game, right? He did everything we asked him. We’ve been working with him. And like I said when I spoke to the boys, we conceded too many goals. And the way for us to win is to not concede. So, we worked on it, we worked on it and today, they executed the plan to perfection.”

Offensively, both teams created more scoring opportunities in the second half. Southern Durham nearly landed a shot early in the period that would’ve made a huge difference in the outcome, but senior Kyson Smith put his body in front of the ball to knock it away.

“That was huge,” Santibañez said about Smith’s stop. “That changes the game, and I think we probably lose our composure a little bit if that goes in.”

Jordan moved to 6-0-2 on the season as it continues its drastic turn around from last year’s four-win campaign. Santibañez believes the success of his 2026 squad is a result of better senior leadership.

“I think we had a lot of talented guys last year that necessarily didn’t do the best job, I think, leading on the field with the team culture overall” Santibañez said. “I still love those kids, but I think this group is a little bit more team over the individual.”

Southern Durham, looking to find its footing after losing two of its first three games, moved to 1-2-2 on the season. The Spartans hope a game like this one can help jumpstart a successful run.

“About (three) years ago, there was the same thing,” Kyei said. “We came here, and we told the boys, ‘Stick to it. We can beat this team.’ We won that game, and that was the inflection point that catapulted us to the Elite Eight in the playoffs. We beat them here with a last minute shot, and that changed our whole season. And we’re hoping today it does the same thing.”