Lewisburg's Max Reed watched Selinsgrove celebrate a goal just 19 seconds into the second half and an anxiety came over him.
It's not that he wasn't trying to score during the game's first 54 minutes, but the deficit just added a little fuel to his fire. And with 25:11 remaining, Reed burned the Selinsgrove defense with a skill and speed that often leaves Lewisburg coach Skip Kratzer in awe.
The Lewisburg sophomore ran onto a ball in the box from a teammate, made a fake to his right, a cut to his left and worked himself into an one-an-one situation with the Selinsgrove keeper. A second later the game was tied, and just over a minute later the Green Dragons held a lead they never relinquished in a 2-1 victory over Selinsgrove in the District 4 Class AA championship game at Loyalsock.
"When Max is on, Max is phenomenal and he can do things that even as a coach I just have to stop... and it's a thing of beauty sometimes," said Kratzer. "That was Max knowing it was time to step up and take care of business and he did."
The Green Dragons (18-2-1), who were the No. 3 seed entering the district tournament, will play the District 2 champion on Tuesday at a District 4 site, while the Seals end their season 17-4.
Lewisburg and Selinsgrove split their two regular-season meetings. The Green Dragons won the last meeting 4-2, but like last night it surrendered the first goal before rallying.
David Aurand scored the first goal just 19 seconds into the second half - his 34th of the season - and set a new Selinsgrove single-season record.
"I thought they got away with one and got lucky," said Reed. "It was early in the second half and we were on our heels and they took advantage of that."
Selinsgrove, which had a flurry of activity early in the first half, held the lead for over 14 minutes in the final 40 minutes until Reed turned the game with his left foot.
"We were down by one goal and we needed one so that was enough to push me to get that ball," said Reed.
Reed added an assist when the ball skimmed his head and onto the foot of Shutt for the game-winning goal with 24:13 remaining.
Lewisburg had two quality chances with under 10 minutes remaining, but Selinsgrove's Travis Petrich made a save on a skipping Reed shot off the turf and stopped a header on a Lewisburg corner.
Desperate to the tie the game, Selinsgrove sustained pressure in the last four minutes. Two set pieces gave the Seals two solid opportunities to tie the game, but the Lewisburg defense and freshman goalkeeper Logan Cho held on and gave the Green Dragons a third consecutive District 4 title.
"Every day (Cho) proves that we made a good decision in putting our faith in him," said Kratzer. "He's a freshman that plays like an old man. He acts like he's been there all his life."
S - David Aurand, 40:19; L - Max Reed, 54:49; L - Kerry Shutt (Reed), 55:47.
Corners: Sel - 4, Lew 3. Shots on goal: Sel - 4, Lew - 7. Shots: Sel - 9, Lew - 12. Saves: Sel - 5 (Travis Petrich); Lew - 3 (Logan Cho).
Records: Lewisburg 18-2-1, Selinsgrove 17-4
