The Valley Central Vikings had come so far, and it all ended so suddenly.

Goshen’s Grace Duffy hit the game-winning goal with about five minutes to go in double overtime as the No. 1 Gladiators eliminated the third-seeded Vikings from the tournament with a 4-3 win at Wallkill Senior High School’s Robinson Field to win the Section 9 Class AA championship.

“It still hasn’t fully set in,” Valley Central coach Jon Walsh said. “It was an amazing game. I wish it ended the opposite way, obviously, but kudos to Goshen. They worked hard. It was a battle back and forth.”

But in the end, it was the top-seeded Gladiators who returned to Wallkill High School on Saturday for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association regional championship game against Section 4 champion Vestal.

The Vikings never held a lead but had to answer the Gladiators three times. The third time came with 17 seconds left in the game on a goal by sophomore Dayna Scott.

That goal quieted Goshen’s student section, which had already started a “start the buses” chant when the Gladiators took the lead for the third time.

“We felt good,” Walsh said. “We were moving the ball well. We were playing our game. We were getting our opportunities. I felt like it was going to come. They got one counter and there we are.”

With the game tied at 3-3, Duffy brought the ball forward and launched the ball under the crossbar to end the game, and with it, the Vikings’ season.

They had an opportunity to end the game in the first overtime period when Sophia Appello went one-one-one with Valley Central goalkeeper Anna Ferraro, but she couldn’t get a shot off before Ferraro covered the ball.

The Gladiators led from the immediate drop when Goshen’s Gigi Obligado scored on a direct kick four minutes into the game, giving the Gladiators a 1-0 lead.

It stayed that way until about 19 minutes left in the game on a goal by Ayla Andrews.

The flurry started with 13:20 remaining in regulation when Duffy scored her first goal of the game off an assist from Appello, but four minutes later, Valley Central’s Samantha Setteducato passed the ball through to Cailin Swart, who tied the game at 2-2.

At that point, the Vikings found their way on the turf and started stringing together better passes.

“We were able to find feet a little more than in the beginning,” Walsh said. “It wasn’t like we were trying to play so direct, but we just weren’t as composed on the ball as we should have been. By that second goal we were locked in and building out.”

Then, with 2:25 remaining in regulation, a corner kick play resulted in Appello’s second goal of the game, sending the Goshen fans into a frenzy anticipating an 80-minute win.

At least, until Scott had her say.

“We did not give up,” Walsh said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way that they played tonight. They left it all out there. They put everything on the line.”

Section 9 Class AA Semifinals
No. 3 Valley Central 1, No. 2 Warwick 0

Caitlin Swart’s corner kick was inadvertently kicked into the goal by a Warwick defender as the No. 3 Vikings eliminated the No. 2 Wildcats on Nov. 4 at Sanfordville Elementary School in Warwick.
Anna Ferraro made four saves for the Vikings.

No. 1 Goshen 1, No. 4 Wallkill 0
Erin Primus scored the game’s only goal as the top-seeded Goshen Gladiators eliminated the No. 4 Wallkill Panthers on Nov. 4 at Goshen High School.
Julia Griffin made one save for the Gladiators and Aoife Brady made 11 saves for the Panthers.