AUBURN — Austin Roy looked at the clock and knew he didn’t have much time.

When the ball came his way from the left side, the St. Dom’s junior forward tried to get the ball on net as quickly as possible. In one fluid motion, he received and shot the ball.

It proved to be a fantastic finish for Roy and the Saints. His last-second chip found the net as regulation time expired Saturday, helping St. Dom’s rally from behind against Mountain Valley for a 1-1 tie in boys’ soccer.

“I kind of looked back up at the clock,” Roy said. “I looked at the time. One thing on the team is that we never give up. The ball came over. I just kicked it in. I gave it my all on that last shot.”

It proved to be a stunning finish for the Falcons, who led for much of the game. Mountain Valley (2-0-1) had gotten a Gustav Gavenas goal just 3:06 into the game and had held off the Saints for most of the game.

“My hat goes off to Mountain Valley,” St. Dom’s coach Marty Bressler said. “They definitely played a great game. They’re definitely a MVC crown contender. I’m very impressed with what their coaching staff has done.”

It was a significant comeback for a shorthanded St. Dom’s team that lost to Hall-Dale 3-0 to open the season but hadn’t played a game since.

“We’ve been decimated by injuries, suspensions and one kid left,” Bressler said. “It’s been very important for us to try to hold on until our key players come back. This was an incredible result for us.”

The Saints looked rusty to start while the Falcons, coming off a 10-0 win over Mt. Abram, played well. It didn’t take long for Mountain Valley to take the lead.

Gavenas, a senior defender, moved up on the play and was in front to fire a shot inside the left post in the opening minutes of the game. The Falcons outshot St. Dom’s 8-1 in the first half but couldn’t add to the lead.

In the second half, St. Dom’s began to pick up its game. It was a physical game but a back-and-forth battle from there.

“We started off a little slow,” Roy said. “We got together as a team and rallied each other. We just brought it back. Our seniors really stepped it up and we just played a better second half.”

Mountain Valley’s best shot in the second half was a curled shot by Gavenas that was saved by St. Dom’s goalie Keenan Lynch.

St. Dom’s got a nice run from Raymond Mosca early in the half but his shot went wide. Jacob Charest had a bid that was headed away by a defender. Roy had a number of tries that were saved by Mountain Valley keeper Jacob Beauchesne. Late in regulation, Adam Vining had a header that followed a corner kick but it went wide. Then Charest had a corner that he put in front in the final minute but the header that followed went wide.

The Falcons appeared on the verge of sealing the win, but St. Dom’s kept the ball in the offensive zone and Roy got possession as the final seconds ticked away. He was to the left of the net and put a quick flick of a shot that was lifted up over everyone and landed in the goal, just as the final second expired.

“We work on those plays a lot in practice,” Roy said. “I saw the goalie come out. He was already going to his bench celebrating. I just popped it over his head.”

The Falcons regrouped for the overtime. Ryan Bennett had a low shot that was saved by Lynch in the first overtime. Then late in the final overtime, the Falcons nearly had a fantastic finish of its own. Felix Promm had a shot off a dead ball but it sailed just over the crossbar.

“I thought it was just a matter of calming down,” Bressler said. “We had a great week of training without a game. I think it was a blessing in disguise not to have a game during the week right after Hall-Dale gave it to us. The key was staying calm and playing our game. We had a much better second half. We started to get some scoring opportunities. I did not expect us to score a goal that late, but we just kept playing through.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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