ASHLAND — Lewisburg senior Viktor Permyashkin was around midfield when he got the ball in overtime and noticed something from Faith Christian keeper Joey Varano.

The Lions goalie was off the line and Permyashkin thought he had a golden opportunity to take a shot even though he was 53 yards out. Turns out, that golden opportunity resulted in a golden goal.

Permyashkin absolutely drilled a shot from more than 50 yards out, sending it to the left post and from there, the celebration was on. The senior Green Dragon ran toward the corner of the field with his arms outstretched and his teammates swarmed him.

For the first time since 2021, Lewisburg’s boys soccer team is once again going to the state championship game. Permyashkin’s goal gave Lewisburg a thrilling 1-0 overtime win against Faith Christian on a bitterly cold Tuesday night at North Schuylkill at Spartan Stadium in the PIAA Class AA semifinals to keep Lewisburg undefeated this year (22-0-1).

The Green Dragons play in the state final on Friday at 4 p.m. against Fairview at Northeastern High School.

“The ball was just bouncing and the keeper was playing off his line the whole time,” Perymashkin said. “As I was running to the ball, I saw him not move back yet so I said ‘I’m just gonna hit the ball’ and I saw it flying to the goal.”

Perymashkin read goalie Joey Varano perfectly and it paid off for the Green Dragons.

“We talked about their keeper being off the line a little bit earlier and Viktor has the range to do that,” Lewisburg coach Ben Kettlewell said. “He just picked up his head and saw it. I think that is in his arsenal. I’ve seen it at practices and I’ve seen it at other times, so it’s not something that’s unusual.”

After 80 minutes of evenly played soccer, Permyashkin’s game-winner in overtime was the shot the Green Dragons needed after Faith Christian got some close calls a few times.

That includes with seconds remaining in regulation when Faith Christian’s Spencer Huber got the ball at the 18 and rifled a nice low shot that Gabe Pawling was able to fall on and block. 

The Lions nearly put the game away roughly four minutes into overtime. With 10:46 to play, Faith Christian’s Joel Book fired a high shot from the 20 that he hoped to sneak under the crossbar. With some keepers, he may have been able to place it perfectly there, but Pawling read it like a book and got his fingertips on it to deflect it backwards out of harm’s way.

“He’s super athletic, he can kind of get anywhere. He can get out of his box and do it all. He’s confident,” Kettlewell said. “He came off and said ‘hey, as long as I can kind of see it, I’m going to have a good opportunity for it.’ He’s able to do that.”

“I mean it’s nothing out of the ordinary, the kid is awesome,” Permyashkin said with a smile. “We just believe in him whole heartedly. The kid is special and he showed today why he’s one of the best in the state.”

Faith Christian opened the game aggressive and had six total shots in the first half, four on frame. But in the second half, the Lions fired seven shots but managed just one on goal. And of those seven second-half shots fired, none came from inside the 18 as Lewisburg’s defense played outstanding.

“I knew they were going to be physical and try to put a lot of pressure on us and try to bully us, especially with some of our young guys,” Kettlewell said. “But once our guys figured it out and kind of stayed with it, they started to believe in themselves.”

The Green Dragons had a great opportunity in the second half with 3:40 to play in the game when Lewisburg got the ball inside of the 18 and sent a great cross to the right. But the Green Dragons didn’t have personnel in the right position for the cross to bury a shot and Faith Christian escaped without a goal allowed at that moment. 

The first 40 minutes saw numerous moments where both teams almost put in a goal.

One of the best chances for Faith Christian occurred with 2:53 until halftime. The Lions’ Jude Clymer got a throughball near the 18 and, with a 1-v-1 look with Pawling, Clymer tried to chip the shot high over him, but instead sent it just high by two feet over the crossbar.

Lewisburg almost put one in with 1:22 to play in the first half when Isaac Ayres got the ball 10 yards out ad had a 1-v-1 opportunity. Ayres sent his shot high only to see it hit right off the crossbar and get cleared out. Ayres shot was just an inch or two from being an unbelievable goal.

“We had to play quicker. We knew that they were going to pressure us, we knew who their good guys were — Nos. 10 (Huber) and 5 (Clymer) — I thought they were fantastic players. They have a bunch of good guys all over the field and we just needed to find our moments,” Kettlewell said. “We started to kind of see it ourselves as we played and said ‘hey, this is where we can attack them, this is where we are going to get our chances and learn about them a little bit more.’ But that’s a great team.”

The Green Dragons out-shot the Lions, 12-6, with majority of that offensive firepower coming in the second half.

With 14:17 in the first half, Ayres had a great header opportunity from 10 yards out off a direct kick sent his way, but the shot was just off the mark.

“We knew if we’d stay organized, we’re one of hardest teams in the state to score on and that’s what happened,” Permyashkin said. “We played patiently and we waited for our chances and I believe we had the better chances today and we were able to capitalize and get a win.”

Up next for Lewisburg is the team’s first trip to the state final since 2021 as Lewisburg faces Fairview at Northeastern High School in Manchester at 4 p.m. Fairview, the District 10 champion, knocked off District 7 champion Deer Lakes in the other semifinal, 3-1.

“Every win is a good win, so this definitely does (give us confidence going into the state final). I’m super proud of all the guys,” Kettlewell said. “Obviously Viktor was able to make that play, but these guys just doing all the small things and some not getting the time they normally get. Just realizing hey it’s what’s for the team because it doesn’t matter who is the hero at this point.”

Lewisburg 1, Faith Christian 0

(PIAA CLASS AA SEMIFINALS)

L–Viktor Permyashkin, 8:04.

Shots: FC 6, L 12. Corners: FC 5, L 2. Saves: FC 10 (Joey Varano), L 6 (Gabe Pawling).

Records: Faith Christian (21-2), Lewisburg (22-0-1).