GUILFORD – Schoolboy soccer matches are contested over 80 minutes, but Saturday?s Eastern Maine Class C final between top-ranked Piscataquis Community High School and No. 3 Dexter was a tale of 72 seconds.

PCHS had taken control late in the first half, with a Dan Rockwell penalty kick giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead and leaving them moments away from a second half with the wind at their backs.

Suddenly, soccer evolved into pinball, and Dexter scored three quick goals to take the lead and, ultimately, a 3-2 victory for the school’s first regional title.

Freshman Aaron Woodman ignited the Tigers’ comeback, scoring on a 35-yard shot with 2:28 left in the half.

Senior Ben Lemieux then scored twice within 38 seconds. He was credited with the tying goal with 1:54 left in the period directly off a corner kick that caromed in off PCHS defenders, and scored the eventual game-winner on a 15-yard shot inside the left post with 1:16 left before intermission.

“I was just thinking how sweet it would be to finally score that one goal and it just happened, I was in the right spot,” Lemieux said of the go-ahead goal. “I just saw the ball and tried to shoot. I was kind of disoriented at the time but I just wanted to shoot.”

It was a stunning turn of events in this clash of neighboring schools. While Dexter had the edge in first-half play to that point, the Tigers had not scored against a resilient PCHS defense backed by freshman Roy Burdin, who was making just his second start in goal at either the high school or junior high level.

“We’ve scored in bunches all during the season,” said Dexter coach Paul Shaw. “I knew we needed to test their goalie, because he wasn’t their original goalie. I knew that once we got one in and these kids knew they could score we were going to score. But I didn’t expect to get three goals in less than two minutes.”

With the win, Dexter (13-3-1) avenged two regular-season losses to PCHS and advanced to Saturday’s state final against Western C champ Georges Valley of Thomaston.

The loss ended a remarkable run for previously unbeaten PCHS. The Pirates lost former head coach Peter Nelson in a fatal ATV accident last summer, and later lost four senior players to disciplinary suspensions just before the playoffs started. Then on Thursday, freshman goalie Ryan Martell, who had made his first varsity start in the quarterfinals, was sidelined just before the semifinals with mononucleosis.

“We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road, and the kids should be very proud of themselves,” said PCHS coach Bruce Priest. “They’ve gone through tons of adversity and always held their heads up. They’ve learned a lot.”

The Pirates (15-1-1) took a 1-0 lead 3:44 into the match as sophomore Joe Jardine scored after outbattling Dexter goalie Sam Bowers for possession of a kick from midfield to the penalty area by PCHS fullback Mike Daggett.

When Rockwell converted his penalty kick after a tripping call with 5:33 left in the first half, PCHS sensed an opportunity to claim its third Eastern C title in the last four years – only to have it wrested away in a span of 72 seconds.

“If we could have gotten to halftime, we’d have been in pretty good shape,” said Priest. “It was a huge momentum shift, and that’s what you get in tournaments sometimes.”

For Dexter, the victory represents the continuation of its own remarkable run, given that the Tigers were 3-9-2 just a year ago.

“After they got the penalty shot, I was concerned that my kids would get down on themselves,” said Shaw. “They haven’t done that this year, but we’ve never really had to come back from being two goals down, either. I saw one of my fullbacks holding his head a little, and I told him, ‘Game’s not over, we just need to start firing on goal.’

“We started firing, and we started scoring.”