The game looked like it was going to overtime.

But Pine Bush’s Joseph Darrell made sure that didn’t happen as his last-minute goal handed the Valley Central Vikings a 3-2 loss in the Section 9 Class AA quarterfinals on Oct. 25 at Valley Central High School.

“It’s brutal,” Valley Central coach Paul Berkowitz said. “And the further you go the more it hurts, but high school sports are crazy. Full marks to Pine Bush for getting that goal. It’s just challenging, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. They worked hard. We had 13 seniors and they were an absolute shining example of what seniors should be on a varsity high school team.”

He said the team’s seniors were completely selfless and never asked anyone to do something they wouldn’t do themselves, and they helped propel the team to a 7-8-0 record during the regular season.

“Every one of them worked hard in practice,” Berkowitz said. “They were receptive. They were a group, all together. There were no segments. They were a true team. It was, in the end, just the highest level of character for the kids.”

The Vikings took control of the game early as Justin Dorner used his speed to burn the Pine Bush defense and send a shot past Pine Bush goalkeeper Kealan Stelmaszyk for a 1-0 lead. Then in the 22nd minute, Dorner added his second goal of the game to give the Vikings some breathing room.

The lead evaporated late in the half as the Bushmen scored on two set plays in exactly the same fashion. In the 36th minute, Roberto Lopez headed a corner kick into the goal to cut the Vikings’ lead to 2-1. And then shortly after, Sergio Gonzalez did the same thing to tie the game at 2-2.

“We had one little breakdown in soccer physics, and they took advantage of it,” Berkowitz said. “We had chances to do the same but were unable to convert.”

The Bushmen had earlier opportunities to take the lead as Darrell’s shot just two minutes into the second half was deflected by Valley Central goalkeeper Maddox Rivera, as he did his best to keep the game tied.

“Maddox is strong,” Berkowitz said. “He did a good job in goal and when he’s healthy, probably one of the best keepers in the league. Connor Swart is unbelievable too. He’s a quick general and works so hard in the middle that you wouldn’t even know it. Part of Justin getting those two goals was his work rate. The same of Dominic Ciano, our center back.

He’s phenomenal. But you go down the line and each one of the seniors have something to say. Even the guys that weren’t able to get in today. They were supportive on the benches.”