WEXFORD — As the waning seconds ticked off the clock, Karns City senior sweeper Taylor Downs couldn't control her emotions.

“Honestly, I think I was crying from the 10-second mark,” Downs said.

She wasn't bawling out of sorrow for the end of the season. She was crying out of joy after a Gremlins' win.

An improbable, shocking, stunning win.

Karns City rallied from 2-1 down against WPIAL Class A champion Greensburg Central Catholic to upset the Centurions, 3-2, in the PIAA Class A girls soccer quarterfinals at North Allegheny High School Saturday afternoon.

“It was something we never thought we'd ever be able to accomplish,” Downs added, the joyful tears dried and all smiles after the match. “It was overwhelming. This whole thing is overwhelming.”

Karns City (20-1) overwhelmed Greensburg Central Catholic with its tenacity.

And its plan to contain Centurions' junior forward Bailey Cartwright, who came into this state quarterfinal with 79 goals and 41 assists this season.

Cartwright had just one shot on goal against the Gremlins, although she did have an assist.

“We worked the last two days in practice on defending (Cartwright),” said Karns City coach Tracy Dailey. “Everything goes through Bailey Cartwright, and it should — she's a great player. I knew if we could control her a bit, our offense would come through enough.”

That plan worked to perfection.

Senior defender Ashley Coon was charged with the task of marking Cartwright. Coon missed a large chunk of the season with an injury, but returned before the playoffs and has played a pivotal role in the Gremlins' run.

“Ashley man-marked (Cartwright), then we had our two outsides pinch in and crowd her and then Tracy had me in the back to sweep up if she got through,” Downs said. “Our whole defense worked together.”

After a scoreless first half, Karns City scored less than a minute into the second half when Greensburg Central Catholic keeper Bella Skatell mishandled a save. Senior defender Sarah Ward tried to clear it, but Karns City's Brianna Brusamonti arrived at the same time. The two players collided and the ball — and Ward — ended up in the net.

Ward, the Centurions best defender, was carried off the field by GCC coach Bryan Cartwright with a knee injury and didn't return.

That goal seemed to awaken the Centurions, however, who scored two quick goals shortly after the Brusamonti score.

Abby Skatell and Sydney Ward scored less than three minutes apart and it appeared Greensburg Central Catholic had steadied the ship.

“We anticipated they'd score on us — I think we were surprised when we scored first,” Downs said. “We had to play like it was 0-0. There was no way we were going to back down.”

Greensburg Central Catholic (22-2), which had outscored its foes 160-8 during its 22-match winning streak, had beaten the Gremlins by 6-3 and 7-2 scores in the 2012 and 2013 state playoffs. In each of those matches, the Centurions scored quickly.

Not this time and GCC coach Bryan Cartwright said that was what ultimately cost his team.

“We needed to come out in the first half with a little more heart,” the coach said. “I think we came in thinking we had already achieved something.

“Ultimately, you have to give (Karns City) credit,” he added. “They played with a lot of heart and passion and they deserved to win.”

Megan McCormick tied the game at the 20-minute mark with a penalty kick and assisted on the game-winner, a header by Haley Scherer, off a corner kick.

The Karns City defense protected that lead for the next 12 minutes with keeper Ali Boltz coming up with two huge saves.

“They just come and work hard — every single day,” Dailey said. “These girls are relentless. They are relentless every time they play. They deserve this.”

Karns City had just two state playoff wins in its 21-year history heading into this season.

The Gremlins have added two more to that tally in a week.

Now, Karns City will play Loyalsock Township (Williamsport) in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at DuBois High School.

The Lancers (17-5-2) are the third-place team out of District 4.

Dailey and Downs both said the celebration of one of the biggest wins in school history will be a short one.

Back to work (Sunday), they both said.

But on Saturday, they couldn't help but bask in what they had accomplished.

“We knew we were the underdog. And, to us, we took it as a challenge,” Downs said. “We wanted to fight. We wanted to show everyone we could do it. We wanted to win this game more than we've ever wanted anything before.”