The Southwestern head coach was out of breath and nearly lost his voice through 80 minutes of boys soccer action.

Once he was able to gather his thoughts some five or 10 minutes after the final whistle blew, it was still hard to explain what had transpired.

Sophomore Seth Vaughn scored off an Allegany-Limestone misplay with 15.3 seconds remaining to cap a three-goal second half as the fifth-seeded Trojans stunned the top-seeded Gators 3-2 in a Section VI Class B2 semifinal at West Seneca West High School.

The drama of Southwestern’s victory was capped only by the first game of the night as No. 6 Lafayette beat No. 2 Royalton-Hartland 2-1 in penalty kicks after each team scored a goal in the waning moments of regulation.

Southwestern’s Seth Vaughn, right, keeps possession of the ball while being closely guarded by Allegany-Limestone’s Sean Conroy during Monday’s Section VI Class B2 semifinal soccer game at West Seneca West High School. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Trojans will play for their third sectional title in program history at 5 p.m. Friday against the Generals at West Seneca East High School. Coincidentally, Southwestern’s last sectional crown was shared with Lafayette in 2018, when the Trojans advanced to the Class B crossover game on penalty kicks.

“In the semifinals (five) years ago, it was Allegany-Limestone. Four years ago in the finals, it was Lafayette,” Deering said. “We’ve been here. We’ve done it before. I just don’t want to go to PKs again.”

Monday’s game was tied for the final eight minutes before Vaughn became the hero.

A foul deep in Southwestern’s end of the field resulted in a free kick and Neves Hoose sent a long ball across the field that ended up nearly reaching the opposite sideline deep in Allegany-Limestone territory. Sophomore Connor Young ended up pressuring the Gators’ defender and his clearing attempt went off the side of his foot toward the center of the field just outside the top of the 18-yard box.

Allegany-Limestone keeper Jack Conroy attempted to play the loose ball aggressively, but was beaten to the spot by Vaughn, who sent a low shot in the yawning open net.

“I thought we were going to overtime. I did not expect that,” Vaughn said. “They made a mistake and I was able to finish it. I knew that the goalie wasn’t in there and I could just put it in the corner.”

“He’s been struggling a little bit on the year with some of those finishes,” Deering added. “That’s big for that kid. He needed to get out of that slump.”

Pandemonium ensued.

After the celebration, the Gators lined up for the kickoff with 10 of their 11 players on the midfield line. The ball was played back to Conroy, who sent a long ball into the Southwestern 18-yard box that glanced off an Allegany-Limestone head and out of bounds past the goal line, allowing time to expire.

“We’ve been battling these guys. Every game, it’s one of the best games of the year in Western New York,” said Deering, whose Trojans lost to the Gators 1-0 and 3-2 in overtime during the regular season. “I wish more people could see these contests.

“No one wants to lose,” Deering said, adding, “they haven’t beaten me in the playoffs.”

The Trojans would have never been in position to win if not for another display of hustle by Vaughn with just over eight minutes remaining. Trailing 2-1, Vaughn chased down a loose ball along the sideline and cut back toward the middle of the field before willing himself into the Gators’ 18-yard box. A trailing defender took down Vaughn, and after the head referee conferred with an assistant referee, a penalty kick was awarded.

“I knew if I went down, he would make that,” Vaughn said. “I have full confidence in him.”

Young confidently walked to the penalty dot and easily beat Conroy to tie the game with his 33rd goal of the season.

“He’s one of the best keepers in Western New York,” Deering said of Conroy, “but I knew he was going to score that.”

Allegany-Limestone scored the lone goal of the first half on a free kick from senior Eric Spring that eluded a Southwestern wall and beat Trojans goalkeeper Jonas Gesing in the 19th minute of the first half.

Southwestern tied the game early in the second half off a corner kick as Nolan Froah’s lofted attempt was headed home by senior defender Spencer Bell in the 42nd minute.

“At the end of the season, we’ve been connecting on our corner kicks,” Deering said. ” … We’ve improved so much on our set pieces.”

Spring found another gear to give the Gators at 2-1 lead in the 61st minute when he made a move in the middle of the field and then used his speed to get by a Southwestern defender before a nearly unstoppable right-footed shot beat Gesing for Spring’s 28th goal of the season.

“He’s one of the top players. He deserves every accolade that he’s gotten over the last couple of years,” Deering said of Spring. “He’s tough. We played spectacular on him, but he managed to get one tonight.”

But the 2-1 lead only held for 11 minutes and, eventually, the Trojans’ 15 seconds leading the game were just enough.

“I don’t think our guys were playing for overtime,” Deering said. “They were flying around. They were trying to get it done.”