Colin McCartney looked as though he had scored the game-winning goal with less than 16 seconds remaining in the game.

But instants earlier, the whistle had blown, and Wallkill boys’ lacrosse coach Alex Danon called for a time out.

No goal. The game was still tied.

However, coming out of the timeout, Richie Martinez brought the ball around the back of the cage and attacked from the right, rifling the ball into the corner of the cage for the tie-breaking score with 6 seconds remaining in the game, lifting the Panthers to a 14-13 non-league win over the Cornwall Dragons on Saturday at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.

“They wanted us to hold the ball and wanted me to take the dodge and get a look to everybody,” Martinez said. “And I saw an opportunity, went in and took the shot.”

Martinez’s goal wasn’t enough to completely secure the victory. That was left to Ty Crowley, who was substituting for regular face-off man Austin Palen, who was out with a shoulder injury.

Crowley kept the ball on the ground for about 3 seconds before the Dragons picked it up and by then the Dragons didn’t have enough time to do anything with it, securing a victory in the Panthers’ final game of the season.

“He did a great job filling,” Danon said. I just told him to keep it on the ground for as long as possible, and he did that. He’s got quick hands and he’s a pretty good face-off guy on his own. He did a good job.”

The Panthers led the Dragons, 7-5 at halftime, and opened 12-8 led at the end of the third quarter.
But the Dragons started closing the gap by scoring the first two goals of the fourth quarter to close the gap to within two points, before McCartney restored a 13-10 lead with 5:19 remaining.

The Dragons added a short-handed goal with 4:45 remaining and Jake Ward cut the lead to 13-12 with 3:42 left in the game. Ethan Suby tied the game for Cornwall with the Dragons playing a man up with 2:21 remaining.

“We just had to keep pushing and keep it going and not get discouraged,” Martinez said. “We had a good talk when they called the timeout and our coach told us to keep our heart. We got energized and got going.”

The Panthers also needed the ball, as Cornwall was winning faceoffs in the fourth quarter, which enabled them to make their comeback.

Crowley won the faceoff after the tying goal, giving the Panthers an opportunity to score the game-winner.

“We just needed the ball,” Danon said. “They were able to crawl back because we kept turning the ball over and give it back to them. They were doing a good job on faceoffs getting the ball. We knew if we gave them possessions they could score.”

The Panthers had the ball last and worked the ball around for an opportunity to score, which the Panthers thought they had done before Danon called a timeout.

“I was sitting there, and all that movement and all that work was just gone,” Martinez said. “But we got it back. Moving the ball around and it was just extraordinary.”

Martinez’s entire game was extraordinary, as he was in on nine of the Panthers’ 14 goals with five goals and four assists.

“He’s been great all season,” Danon said. “His numbers show it. He’s just a tough matchup because of his size and speed. And he’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever seen. He’s hard to stop and he shows that every game.”

That was the last game of the regular season for the Panthers, who are undefeated in local play and will get the top seed as they look to defend their Section 9 Class C championship.

“I think this puts a good motive in our head for the playoffs,” Martinez said. “It’s a good opportunity to keep going and just keep pushing when the playoffs arrive.”