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Frustration settled along with the evening dew on Polk County’s sideline Thursday evening.

Which was Madison’s obvious goal.

The Patriots erected a wall of white jerseys, typically having at least seven players in the defensive half of the field for their non-conference matchup with the Wolverines. The strategy worked, too, as the teams battled to a 0-0 tie in G.M. Tennant Stadium.

Madison (5-3-1) seemed content to let its burly back line be the focus of the evening, limiting scoring opportunities for Polk County (4-1-2) while producing few of its own. That meant the Wolverines needed to be nearly perfect when getting a rare good look at goal, and that never happened for Polk.

“The bunker of defense,” said Polk County head coach George Alley. “We tried to get a lot of numbers around it and poke through. And then I said, I know we’re going to have to get one on a set play, deflection, corner kick. If we get one, they’ll have to open up and come out. So it’s either that or when they did get out, we try to get them in transition.

“Maybe a little frustration is what the guys need. I certainly know I’m frustrated.”

The Wolverines had a couple of decent looks in the final 20 minutes. Nate Martinez sent a looping shot toward the upper right corner that Madison goalkeeper Arthur Pecoraro had to leap to stop. Martinez was also just wide on a long blast with 9:41 remaining, and Blake Anderson was just high on a shot deep in the penalty area with four minutes to go.

Ultimately, the Wolverines couldn’t capitalize on the few scoring chances they had, and as Polk prepares to begin Mountain Foothills 7 Conference play next week, that’s one thing that Alley hopes will change.

“The conference road is tough,” he said. “I still feel pretty good about us defensively in staying in games. But, again, it’s getting finishes.”

Polk County will be back in action on Monday, traveling to East Henderson for a final non-conference encounter before opening MF7 play on Thursday at home against defending conference champion Patton.