So it was only fitting that the pair connected with each other to secure the Trojans their third ever sectional championship.

With time winding down in the second overtime period against No. 1 Lafayette, it looked like the 2-2 score would remain, both teams would be crowned co-champions and penalty kicks would decide who advanced to Tuesday’s crossover.

However, after over 100 minutes of play, Young sprung the speedy Vaughn on a breakaway and he broke through the Lafayette defense to slip the golden goal through for a 3-2 victory at West Seneca West High School.

“I was lost for words, I was like no way it went in,” Vaughn said about scoring the golden goal. “I was so happy and excited, just so emotional. Cole made a fantastic pass to me and I just finished it. Knowing that we were down 2-0 and us coming back, that’s just awesome.”

Southwestern poses with the Section Vi championship banner after defeating Lafayette 3-2 in double overtime on Friday night at West Seneca West High School. P-J photo by Christian Storms

While the Trojans’ dynamic duo on offense did their job to bring home a sectional title, they definitely wouldn’t have made it without the team behind them, especially in Friday’s final.

After an uncharacteristically bad first half, No. 2 Southwestern (17-1-0) was in a 2-0 deficit against a team that had only given up seven goals all season long.

“The first half wasn’t us, it was frustrating,” Southwestern head coach Jason Deering said. “We were nervous, we were way too amped up for this even though we were trying to calm ourselves down. We brought our ‘A’ game in that second half, we brought Southwestern soccer.”

After scoring its two goals, Lafayette (16-1-0) did a stellar job of not only keeping Southwestern off the board, but limiting any dangerous chances from the Trojans. So in the second half, the Trojans needed someone to step up.

Deering looked to his bench for relief in the second half and stepping into the midfield was senior Joaquin Caparroz. Coming into the contest with just five goals on the year, it was not expected for Caparroz to fill the back of the net, but that’s what he decided to do.

“The funny thing is he was telling me ‘Coach, you’ve got to play me again. Get me in there the second half,'” Deering said about Caparroz stepping up. “I said we’re just going to go with the starters, I had to put him in real quick and then five seconds later he’s putting in that first goal. Sometimes I have to listen to my players.”

In the 52nd minute, Caparroz first dribbled through the box and fired a shot into the back of the net and swung the momentum back in favor of Southwestern.

“We just needed the first goal,” Deering said about the momentum. “Once we got the first goal, what we do is start putting goals in. It wasn’t quite like regular season, but we get that first goal everything else starts rolling really well for us. We went and played as a better team and got that victory.”

With life breathed back into them, the Trojans took control of the game and in the 60th minute it was Caparroz finding the back of the net again to tie the game at 2-2.

“He’s been a huge part, especially tonight,” Vaughn said about Caparroz. “He has nasty footwork and was just incredible today. Without him we wouldn’t be here, so thanks to him for coming to our school from Brazil.”

Southwestern’s second half mirrored the first half by Lafayette, which scored both of its goals in quick succession. Lafayette opened the scoring on a penalty kick by Chaku Lubanda in the 14th minute and then in the 16th Faris Abdullahman knocked in a loose ball in the box.

Despite other chances, Lafayette only managed the pair. The same thing happened to Southwestern in the second half, but overtime was needed to decide the outcome.

“I was never afraid that we were going to lose that game, even down two goals,” Deering added. “We know who we have, we know we can score four or five in a half on anyone. I knew we had it, that sounds so cocky and I don’t like saying that, but I just know these guys. I know these guys weren’t going to quit, they were going to fight so hard for this win.”

Both teams had their chances in the overtime periods, but none was better than Lafayette’s strike only minutes before the game-winning goal. A shot that was destined for a bar-down finish was punched away at the very last second by a leaping Jonas Gesing.

“We feel we have the best defensive five in Section VI, but they weren’t showing in that first half,” Deering added. “They brought it in that second half, the entire team started shutting them down and doing what we do.”

Lafayette managed to keep the duo of Vaughn and Young from connecting on a goal for over 100 minutes, but it needed to do it for a little longer. With 9:18 left in overtime, Vaughn’s goal secured Southwestern its first sectional title since 2018 when it was co-champions with Lafayette.

Southwestern will now play against Class B1 champion East Aurora (19-0-1) in the crossover game to determine the overall Class B champion on Tuesday at West Seneca West High School at 5 p.m.