BUFFALO — A year ago there wasn’t much in the way of Jamestown’s trip to the Section VI Class AAA boys soccer final, but this season the Red & Green was put to the test.

After a tight quarterfinal matchup, Jamestown outlasted Hutch Tech in the second round of penalty kicks for a 1-1 (7-6) victory at All High Stadium on Thursday evening.

“I was concerned about it at the beginning of the year because we’re really young,” Jamestown head coach Bonnie Schnars said about her team. “But they have worked so hard all season. Going from last year to that title game, I feel we didn’t have to work as hard for it, but this year it was a little bit different.”

No. 3 Jamestown did not do itself any favors when nearly six minutes into the game No. 2 Hutch Tech found the back of the net, courtesy of Destin Runyeruka.

“Hutch Tech, they were a good team,” Schnars stated. “They played very well. They’re very talented.”

Jamestown waited nearly 57 minutes for its answer and it came in the 63rd minute when Lincoln Carpenter scored on a ball from Tavion Goodlow, but the night was hardly over for the Red & Green.

Jamestown and Hutch Tech battled to a 1-1 draw after 80 minutes of action and then both teams were still unable to net a decisive goal in 30 minutes of golden goal overtime.

Then it was Jamestown goalkeeper Evan Maloney’s time to shine in the penalty shootout. Both teams went through the first five shooters with four goals each and a save made by each goalie, sending the game to single-shot penalty kicks.

Robbie Williams, William Schnars and William Crossley scored to put the game in Maloney’s hands and he delivered with a 13th save of the night.

“He made two saves in the penalty kicks, unbelievable saves to win the game for us tonight,” Schnars said about her goalkeeper’s heroics.

While Beckett Lumia, Ben Deford, Hubert Mulenda and Maloney himself had to make their first trip to the penalty marker count, Maloney on the goal line got a little practice in regulation with a huge save of a penalty.

“He’s not a very vocal keeper, but he’s calm under pressure,” Schnars added about Maloney’s importance. “I think tonight it all went smoothly for him. We’ve been working on our counterattacks from the back and starting from him, it’s a transition we’ve made for the playoffs.”

The win for Jamestown (6-11-1) sets up a rematch with top-seeded Lancaster (14-2-0) on Saturday at West Seneca East High School at 5 p.m. Last year the Red & Green fell to the Legends 4-0 in the first Class AAA championship and Lancaster went on to the state semifinals.

“It’s a turning point for us,” Schnars said about the Jamestown program. “This is big for us and it says a lot about the growth of the program. I’m excited to see everything grow in the direction it’s meant to be growing. … I think Saturday we hopefully compete. We want the blue patch, but we’ll see.”