PIAA Class 2A Boys Lacrosse: Goldstein ends 5-OT marathon, sends Penncrest to state final

WEST CHESTER – Pure elation. Pure exhaustion. And perhaps some relief that it was finally over.

Those were the emotions pouring out of Penncrest players, coaches and fans Tuesday night at West Chester Henderson after the Lions survived a never-ending state semifinal battle with Twin Valley that required five overtime periods. Calling it an instant classic wouldn't do it justice.

And of course, it was Aaron Goldstein who delivered the moment everyone will remember.

The Drexel commit scored with 52.1 seconds left in the fifth overtime, lifting Penncrest to a 9-8 victory and sending the Lions to the PIAA Class 2A final at Penn State's Panzer Stadium Saturday.

Maybe the best words of the night came from Penncrest coach Evan Pettit during the postgame huddle when he announced practice Wednesday was canceled.

His players earned that day off. Five overtimes will do that.

The District 1 champion Lions (20-6) look to win the program's second PIAA championship and first since 2014. They face District 7 champion Mars Area at 12:30.

Twin Valley (25-4), the third-place team from District 3, saw its deepest postseason run in program history come to an end in heartbreaking fashion.

Fittingly, it took Penncrest's biggest star to finally put the game to bed.

Goldstein had a chance earlier. In the first overtime, he fired a rocket toward Twin Valley goalie Sean Murphy, who turned him away. The next time, Goldstein would not miss.

After scoring Penncrest's first two goals of the night in the first quarter and adding another with 2:14 left in the second to tie the game at 4-4, Goldstein was mostly held in check. But the best often find a way to fight through the noise.

Goldstein got the ball up top, spun away from a defender and ripped a shot past Murphy to send the Lions into celebration mode.

"I was praying on the field the whole time," he said. "My Lord and Savior, he did this for us. He really filled this team tonight and I'm just so grateful. It's incredible. Our defense stood on their heads tonight. I didn't even know how many overtimes we just played, but our defense kept getting stops."

Both teams had ample opportunities slip away. Neither offense was operating at its usual rhythm, thanks to physical defenses and outstanding goaltending on both ends.

Penncrest's Carson Patti was about as good as Murphy, who made 18 saves.

Moments before Goldstein's winner, there was a scary moment when standout defender Jack Martin went down with an apparent knee injury. Martin, who was outstanding all night with his stick work, had to be helped off the field.

Penncrest fans erupted, believing the hit was egregious. But physical play was part of the night, with officials mostly letting the teams get away with stuff.

"I just knew at one point, my prayers would be answered and we would score," Goldstein said. "It fell to me … and at least it's done."

Patti finished with seven saves, and none was bigger than his final stop of the fourth overtime.

After attempting to clear the ball with a pass, Twin Valley intercepted near midfield. Patti raced back toward the net as Drew Engle, who tied the game at 5-5 in the third quarter, fired a quick shot. Patti somehow made the save despite not being set in the cage.

"I remember that I overthrew our player when I should have stayed calm. There was like 15 seconds left, and I got a little ahead of myself," Patti said. "Thank god it didn't go in. He shot it and I wasn't in the net, and I saved it. In those situations I run and try to … see where I am, turn around and backpedal. Especially in that situation, their best player No. 26 has the ball. I got a piece of it with like two seconds left and I just quickly threw it.

"This doesn't even feel real. The five overtimes went so fast. It's insane."

Penncrest had the advantage at the faceoff X thanks to Logan Bruette, who was nearly automatic. Bruette won 19 faceoffs, including four of the five to start OTs periods. Patti and Goldstein both made sure to recognize the importance of Bruette's performance and the defensive game plan.

"Our faceoff guy, I got to give props to him," Patti said. "Logan Bruette won everything, and he made our lives so much easier down on defense."

Goldstein started the night fast, scoring twice in the first quarter, but Twin Valley showed it belonged on the big stage. Cooper Glass answered with two goals to tie things up, and from there it became a fight.

Shane Pettit gave Penncrest a 6-5 lead in the third after receiving a feed from Goldstein and finding room in front of Murphy. Colin Gallagher tied it with 28 seconds left in the third, but Luke Young scored as time expired to give Penncrest a 7-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

Trailing 8-7 late, Pettit struck again, finishing a Goldstein assist with 1:28 left while Twin Valley was serving a penalty.

For Twin Valley coach Decker Doupe, the loss was painful, but the pride was obvious. Fighting back tears, Doupe praised his team and the legacy left by his senior class.

"Every single one of them played as hard as they could, played for each other, and did exactly what we asked them to do," Doupe said. "In a tight game, we just didn't get the final break or get the shot to win it, and that's just what it is. It's tough when you give everything you have, and you just don't get it."

Doupe knew Goldstein was likely going to have the ball with the game on the line.

"(Goldstein) is an unbelievable player. He scores five-plus goals a game for a reason. We weren't shocked by it, we just had one little breakdown at the end," Doupe said. "I thought we did a good job playing it the way we wanted to, but we got a little twisted up at the end and that was enough of the break to give them the shot."

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 2:57 PM.