That struggle reared its head again Wednesday night in the second half of the Dragons District 10 Class 3A quarterfinal match with Fort LeBoeuf. Brennan McMahon scored on a free kick to tie it and Chase Bell put in a rebound off a corner kick with 28 seconds left in the match to send the Bison to the semifinals with a 3-2 win at Fairview’s Keck Field at Jack Beckwith Park.

“That was a heartbreaker,” Warren coach Denny Flatt said. “We had chances and didn’t capitalize.”

“Those set pieces-corners and free kicks-have hurt us all year,” assistant coach Chris Darling added. “We had opportunities we didn’t convert, and have given up opportunities.”

Bell’s heroics came as Fort LeBoeuf (8-8-2) got a corner kick with 45 seconds left and the match tied at 2-2. Warren (11-6) redirected the initial kick away from the goal, but not out. The Bison were able to regain possession and the ball found its way to Bell’s foot on a sharp angle to the left of the goal. He buried the shot far side for the game-winner.

Warren goal keeper Ian Darling stares down a ball coming his direction during the second half of Wednesday’s playoff game against Fort LeBoeuf at Fairview High School.

“These are two evenly-matched teams and its hard to come out on the losing end of these games,” Flatt said.

Warren controlled possession to start the match, but LeBoeuf put the first goal on the board at 16:01. Junior Mitch Rathburn corralled a long pass and took it deep into the offensive zone. He sent a high crossing pass to the middle and Sam Kightlinger redirected it in with a header for a 1-0 lead.

The Dragons needed a little more than four minutes to answer.

Caleb Lindell got the ball just outside the box, made a nifty move to get past the defender and sent a shot to the far post to tie the match at 1-1.

The goal was Lindell’s 47th of the season, tying the single-season program record set by Troy Burns in 2009.

Warren’s Wes Kiehl attempts dribbles in front of a Fort LeBoeuf defender during the first half of their District 10 Class 3A quarterfinal game at Fairview High School, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Kiehl and the Dragons fell in a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Bison.

“Troy came and worked with Caleb,” Flatt said. “It’s one of those things that has come full circle. It’s nice for (Lindell), but I know he’d rather have the win.”

Neither team scored again before the half ended, though Warren had three quality chances in the final two minutes. Two of the shots looked like they were headed for the corner of the net, but both trickled just wide of the post. Bison keeper Hunter Yaple made a diving stop on the third to keep the match knotted at 1-1.

“I give credit to their keeper, he made some nice saves,” Flatt said.

The Dragons wasted little time converting in the second half.

Just 3:27 in, JT Blum got free on a breakaway following a Bison turnover near midfield. Blum blew past the defense and fired a rocket past Yaple to give Warren a 2-1 lead.

The Bison tied it five minutes later.

McMahon took a free kick at center just outside the box. He shot high and tucked the ball between the crossbar and keeper Ian Darling’s fingertips to tie it at 2-2.

McMahon nearly got his second of the game three minutes later. He took another free kick and tried to put it in the same spot. This time, the shot hit the crossbar and the Dragons were able to clear.

Lindell nearly gave Warren the lead again at 52:12. He followed a high, arching shot into the box. Yaple came out to play the ball on the bounce, but the back spin pushed the ball to Lindell’s foot. He got a shot away, but it went just over the crossbar.

Warren had more chances, but each time the shot was either just off target or Yaple was there to make the stop.

“There were four or five times I thought we had a goal,” Flatt said. “We had chances to put the game away.”

The Bison began pressing the issue late in the half and that pressure led to the corner and Bell’s game-winner.

“We battle them every time we play them,” Darling said. “It was a great match, we just couldn’t get the ball in the net.”

Fort LeBoeuf moves on to the semifinals and a match with Erie Cathedral Prep. The Ramblers defeated Franklin, 11-0, in their quarterfinal match.

Warren’s season comes to a close and the Dragons say goodbye to a talented senior class.

“The kids gave everything they had,” Flatt said. “Now we have to say goodbye to a group of seniors we’ve coached for a long time.”