Coach David Evans find his Warrenton soccer team in a gridlock with three other GAC conference teams.And last Thursday’s meeting with Orchard Farm was quite indicative of  how close the league race has been this season.St. Charles West has shown its dominance against all GAC opponents, but the rest have found themselves on a level playing field.The Warriors held off Orchard Farm 1-0 in penalty kicks in the latest of tight conference meetings.A scoreless match found its way into overtime and ultimately penalty kicks before Tiffany Fleahman, Reagan Cupp and Colleen Bayer converted on their attempts.“Their girl missed right off the bat, and that took some pressure off us, and our girls delivered,” said Evans. “It was nice to win a close game like that.”It was another strong showing for senior goalkeeper Kalee Kelly.“She came up with a couple big saves and gave us the advantage,” said Evans.The improvement continues to show for the Warriors. In fact, Orchard Farm had the upper hand in terms of experience, having already decided two of its GAC games by penalty kicks in recent weeks.“It was a good game for us,” said Evans. “We had better communication than we’d been having.”The ball control was evenly distributed, as neither team permitted many open looks to the other.“It was pretty balanced in terms of possession,” said Evans. “No one really got quality shots, and a lot of the game was spent in the middle of the field. We had a couple shots on goal but never anything that was real threatening. One of the focal areas was trying to develop some offense.”He was pleased with the contribution by his entire team.“It was a well-rounded game,” said Evans. “It was one where everybody played their role and did a good job. Nobody had that mental error that put us in a bad situation.”As of now, Warrenton is in a race with Liberty, Orchard Farm and Winfield, with St. Charles and St. Charles West having a grip on the conference.WARRIORS DEFEAT ORCHARD FARMBill Barrett photo.