Upper Dublin suffers heart-breaking OT loss to Conestoga in District 1 2nd round

UPPER DUBLIN — Point-oh-two seconds.

By the time you think of the half-blink of an eye that that period of time represents, it’s over — just like Upper Dublin High’s boys lacrosse season.

Seemingly on their way to a second-round PIAA District One playoff win over Conestoga, the Cardinals saw the Pioneers force overtime with a goal with .02 seconds left.

Two-point-one seconds.

Seemingly on their way to a second overtime period, the Cardinals saw Conestoga insert the dagger with 2.1 seconds left in the first overtime, and dance away with a 10-9 win in an incredible, white-knuckled classic Thursday afternoon at Spark Field.

“This was one of the best games I’ve ever been in,’ said Conestoga’s Steven Hildebrand, whose missile past Cardinals goaltender Bob McPeake ended it.

“This team has its own identity,’ said Conestoga head coach Brody Bush, when it was suggested that this year’s Pioneers were able to draw on the magic of the program’s glorious past. “This is their team and this is their moment in time.

“They proved they wanted to keep playing, and they really deserved this win.’

But on this day it could be argued that both sides deserved to win. In a back-and-forth, knee-buckler in which neither side ever let up for point-oh-two, the Cardinals never trailed until the game’s final goal. Meanwhile, the Pioneers got behind by three goals late in the first half, battled back to tie it with 3:35 to play, and then again with 39 seconds to play and then again with .02 to play.