They didn’t back down.

In a back-and-forth game, it was ultimately the Ramblers that came away with a 4-2 win Wednesday at Veterans Stadium, but coach Denny Flatt couldn’t have been any more proud of the way his team played.

“Our kids, I couldn’t have been any prouder,” he said. “We asked them to bring it and they responded. We had 32 members of our team and every single one of them contributed. The ones that didn’t take the field helped the one’s that took the field. I hate to see the season come to an end because it’s a great bunch of young men.”

Much like the first meeting of the season, a 3-0 Prep win, the game took a defensive tone to start.

Warren senior Connor Guiffre controls the ball as he brings it upfield during Wednesday’s playoff battle against Cathedral Prep at Veterans Stadium. Guiffre got the Dragons on the board late in the first half.

The Ramblers (18-1) dominated possession early in the game, getting some good chances against Warren keeper Seth Harrington.

The Dragons (11-8), however, packed in the defense, limiting truly good scoring chances. Tanner Kays, Caleb Ei and Andy Beyer were in the middle of the defense, but they weren’t the only ones, as Tyler Gustafson, Connor Guiffre and really the Dragons as a unit were stout.

“It was a pretty physical game at times and we didn’t back down,” Flatt said. “We weren’t intimidated by their ranking and we weren’t intimidated about how we had to play basically on their home field.”

Indeed, it was a very short trip for the Ramblers from 12th Street to 26th Street in Erie. As Flatt said, however, the Dragons weren’t intimidated.

Prep did strike first, however, as John Peterson received a perfect pass and was able to beat the oustretched arms of Harrrington at the 22:03 mark.

Warren junior Colin Blair heads the ball upfield during Wednesday’s playoff game against Cathedral Prep.

“Honestly, I think two of their goals were offsides,” Flatt said. “I know that sounds like sour grapes, but they had to work to beat us. Andy Beyer had a phenomenal game, Caleb Ei, Tyler Gustafson, the entire back line.”

After the first goal, the game seemed to open up little by little.

Peterson and Jack Foht both had good chances against Harrington in the ensuing five minutes, but the Warren senior, who made 30 saves on the night, was up to the challenge.

“Seth played absolutely out of his mind,” Flatt said. “We know he’s a great keeper, but he was just unbelievable.”

Jimmy Lobdell got the first Dragon shot on net off a free kick, the first of several good scoring chances the Dragons had in the first half.

Warren's Griffin Suppa controls the ball during the second half of Wednesday's playoff game against Cathedral Prep.

They were finally able to take advantage after earning a corner kick.

Bryce McCracken took the kick, and after being deflected several times, Guiffre got a head on it and beat keeper Nathaniel Ferrick to tie the game at 1-1 with 6:03 to go in the half.

“Connor had a great game,” noted Flatt. “Griffin (Suppa) who was playing slightly injured had a great game. He brought it, Bryce McCracken and Caleb Lindell played really well.”

The momentum the Dragons had was short-lived, as Prep’s James Lynch got behind the defense and got a clear shot on goal, burying it into the back of the net with 4:50 left in the half.

Trailing 2-1 at the half, their was no backdown from the Dragons.

“We understood the magnitude of the opportunity we had to play the No. 1 team,” said assistant coach Chris Darling. “The boys, every one of them stepped up. You hate to say a loss is a special game. As you can tell from Denny and I, we’re just proud. They came to play and left everything on the field.”

Unlike the start to the first half, the second half was fast and furious.

The Ramblers got a pair of shots on Harrington in the first minute, but Lynch was twice denied by the Dragon keeper.

Prep also got a pair of corner kicks in the early stages of the half, but each time the Warren defense was there to clear the threat.

With such a physical match, the Warren bench was asked to step up and step up they did.

“The subs that went in … Ryon Flatt, Michal Shingler, Dominic Caprino, Tyler Mahood … it was hard for them to come off the bench cold, but they responded,” Flatt said.

With the Dragons being aggressive and pushing to get the equalizer, the Ramblers forced a counter attack and Peterson was able to chip the ball over Harrington and into the net to make it 3-1 with 9:51 to go.

“The last goal, we only had three defenders back,” Flatt said.

But just as it looked as if Warren was done, they came back.

Kays got a free kick that bounced around in the box and McCracken was able to collect it, set himself and bury the shot to make it 3-2 with 5:01 remaining.

“We scored our second goal, we changed our formation up because we knew we had to generate some offense and it worked perfectly,” Flatt said.

Try as they might, the Dragons couldn’t get a great scoring chance in the final five minutes. Prep was able to take advantage again of the Dragons pushing up to get a good counter-rush, and Liam King scored to put the game away with 43 seconds left.

“If we would have played like this every game this season, we would have won a lot more,” Flatt said. “I keep reminding the kids of just how good they are.”

It was a far cry from the 13-0 deficit the Ramblers won by in the opening round against the Dragons last year, showing just how far they’ve come.

“There was nothing left to give. It was a memorable match for everybody … seniors and right on through,” Darling said. “We’ll be talking about this right on through and building on it. Good stuff, good soccer. We played smart. I can’t say enough positive about it.”

For the senior class, which includes Guiffre, Harrington, McCracken, Kays, Shingler, Lobdell, Devin Reed, Caprino, Ryan Duckett, Mahood and Josh John, it was the end of careers that saw them continue the storied tradition of Warren soccer.

“The seniors got a good send off,” Flatt said. “I know the underclassmen are going to build off of this. The intimidation factor is gone.”

And for the coaches themselves, it was also a good time to reflect on the season that was.

“Denny as a head coach, he works hard and gives everything he has,” Darling said. “The time he gives to this team, people just don’t give that much time and he does. He’s committed to every aspect and exemplifies what a coach should be.”

Flatt echoed similar sentiments.

“I’m surrounded by a great group of coaches,” he said. “This has been in the works for years. We plan on full steam ahead. Indoor starts in two weeks, winter conditioning, it’s pretty much full steam ahead for the next 12 months.”