After 120 scoreless minutes, the PIAA Class AA boys soccer state championship between Lewisburg and Quaker Valley came down to a shootout. Tony Burns assumed his position in net while the Green Dragons fan section roared for just a few more saves.

Burns was in the same position he was just three days prior in the state semifinal against Midd-West.

“My thought process going into PKs is that I have to do the best I can to make an educated guess,” Burns said. “It just didn’t work out in my favor, that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Lewisburg fell to Quaker Valley, 5-4, in PKs to finish as Class AA runners-up.

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg's Tony Burns comes up with a save during Friday's PIAA Class AA championship game against Quaker Valley in Hershey.

“They were obviously the better team out there, there’s no doubt about it,” Burns said. “You have to hand it to them, Quaker Valley’s a great program”

The Quakers — who’ve outscored opponents 167-11, with 19 shutouts on the year — were held in check by Lewisburg’s back line. Quaker Valley fired 22 shots, which would typically devastate any defense in Pennsylvania as the Quakers had been.

After trading possessions and feeling one another out for the first 10 minutes, Quaker Valley began pinning the Green Dragons in their own territory.

Through the first half, Lewisburg didn’t get a shot in and struggled to advance the ball past midfield. The Quakers’ midfielders kept the Green Dragons in check and laid the pressure on with five shots and three corner kicks through 40 minutes.

“We watched our film, did our research on them and I think we did a really great job of being able to take away their offensive attack, whether it be showing them the sideline, not letting them cut in and take a shot,” Burns said. “Just slowing them down, because they want to go fast-paced attack all the way.”

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg's Noah Pawling (5) and Quaker Valley's Nick Allan (31) go for the ball in Friday's PIAA Class AA championship game at Hershey.

Burns (eight saves) came up with a pair of big-time leaping deflections at the top of the net. One ball came dangerously close from 20 yards out off the foot of sophomore midfielder Cameron Diggins, but Burns raised his left hand and redirected it with the tips of his fingers.

Things started to open up for Lewisburg in the second half. The Green Dragons started getting more possession time and got five shots off.

“Having the wind to our backs definitely helped and I think having the mentality that we needed to put one away,” senior midfielder Carter Hoover said. “We were unlucky with a couple chances that we just couldn’t put away.”

Lewisburg coach Ben Kettlewell also said the wind played a huge role in the state final.

“If there was no wind, this game would’ve been neutral,” Kettlewell said. “In the first half, we had the wind in our face. You put the ball down and it’s blowing away. We withstood the first 40 minutes going against the wind to get to the second half.”

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg players and coaches react after losing to Quaker Valley on Friday afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium in the PIAA Class AA championship in a shootout, 5-4. The loss denied Lewisburg a chance to win repeat state titles for the second time in program history.

Zach Buhr came up with two saves for Quaker Valley. The senior goalkeeper came up with a stop to snap a 2-2 draw in the shootout. Nick Passaniti, Philip Permyashkin, Rudy Kristjanson-Gural and Hoover all scored PKs.

Both overtime periods were frantic. Each team took deep shots while linebackers locked down the 18-yard boxes. The Quakers outshot the Green Dragons 6-1 in extra minutes, and still couldn’t find the back of the net between Burns and solid back line play.

Against a dominant, overwhelming offense, Lewisburg held firm.

“That’s what they do, that’s who they are. They stay with it, they back each other up,” Kettlewell said on the Green Dragons’ defense. “You could tell there’s a moment to get past Tony when Ian (Mckinney) is there. There’s a moment to get past all our guys and we’re there to back each other up and support each other.”

With the hopes of a state title repeat over, Lewisburg loses 10 seniors to graduation.

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg's Tony Burns comes up with a save against Quaker Valley on Friday during the PIAA Class AA championship at Hershey.

“I believed in my team. Tough to go out on PKs, you could see the last five, 10 minutes of the game, both teams were just exhausted,” Kettlewell said. “Every time the ball went out of bounds, both teams just wanted to take a break. I commend my guys for sticking with it. We were switched on at all times, it just didn’t go our way today.”

Lewisburg 0,

Quaker Valley 0 (2 OT)

(PIAA CLASS AA CHAMPIONSHIP)

(Quaker Valley won shootout, 5-4)

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg's Tony Burns slides to block a shot during the shootout round in Hershey of the PIAA Class AA champions. Lewisburg lost to Quaker Valley, 5-4.

Shots: L 3, QV 11. Corners: L 7, QV 4. Saves: L 8 (Tony Burns), QV 2 (Zach Buhr).

Records: Lewisburg (21-2-1), Quaker Valley (23-2).