WEXFORD — Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic owned the field, its offensive players coasting through Quaker Valley's defense and scoring in bunches.

The frantic pace allowed the Trojans to tally the game's final seven goals.

The only problem for CWNC and head coach Don Bryant was the nine-goal deficit they faced at the start of their run.

The Trojans' valiant rally fell short in a 16-14 loss to the Quakers in a WPIAL Class 2A boys lacrosse semifinal Tuesday at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium.

Quaker Valley's Oliver Funk scored with 7:41 left in the game, giving his team what appeared to be a commanding 16-7 edge.

But CWNC's Chris Virostek found the net behind Quaker goalie John Auth just 16 seconds later. Over the next two minutes and 11 seconds, Virostek scored again and Alex Culbertson scored twice to cut Quaker Valley's lead to 16-11 and the Quakers were on their heels.

“That's how we should have been playing the whole game,” said Bryant. “We made our first trip to the playoffs this year and we played scared for most of the game. Once we realized that we can play with anybody, you saw it, we were dominating.”

In the end, the Trojans simply ran out of time. Culbertson, Virostek and Seth Benson all scored to make it 16-14, but Benson's tally came with just 34 seconds left as the Quakers escaped to reach Friday's title game against Mars.

“Cardinal Wuerl played well late in the game and they made a run,” said Quaker Valley coach Chip Hansen. “I'll just leave it at that.”

As good as CWNC's play was in the last seven-plus minutes, the Trojans appeared shaken earlier in the second half.

They entered the third quarter trailing just 7-5, but the Quakers scored all five of the game's third-period goals to take a 12-5 lead.

Following a score from Culbertson to start the final quarter, Quaker Valley received scores from David Kraus, Evan Frund and Jake Giotto to push its advantage to 15-6.

“We made a few adjustments,” said Hansen of his team's outburst, “but it just came down to us moving the ball well and playing good, solid team lacrosse.”

Giotto and Frund both had four goals to pace a balanced offense for Quaker Valley (13-2).

Culbertson had six goals to lead CWNC and Virostek scored five times. Noah Sperling stopped 11 shots in net.

“I couldn't be happier with the team,” said Bryant, reflecting on his squad's 12-5 season. “There's no other team in the WPIAL I'd rather coach.”