CLARION - It was a strength of the Karns City boys soccer team.

It just turned out DuBois Central Catholic was stronger.

Two 40-minute halves and four overtime periods totaling 30 minutes couldn't determine the winner of the District 9 Class A championship Thursday at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium, so it came down to penalty kicks.

When DuBois Central Catholic's Noah Bauers slipped the ball past Gremlins goalie Mike Lopresti, it secured a 4-1 victory that gave the Cardinals the title.

"We had our chances," said Karns City coach Roy Parker. "I thought we dominated in all the overtimes.

"When it went to the penalty kicks, I though it was great. That's one of our strengths," he added.

"We practice those all the time. We were 12 for 12 in practice," said Cardinals coach Scott Barber. "Then we put the goalie (John McIntosh) in and he started shutting it down."

After the four overtime periods, the penalty kicks determine the winner of the game. Each team can receive up to five penalty kicks.

The winner is determined by which team makes the most. An equal number would move the game on to a different set of five kickers.

The Cardinals' Jared Snyder started things off with a score past Lopresti. The Gremlins' Andrew Harmon hit the crossbar with his attempt.

A shot by DuBois' Matt Manfredo shot was wide, but Karns City's Josiah Grubbs shot was stopped when McIntosh dove for a save, keeping the Cardinals ahead.

The Cardinals' Greg Kenawell scored but Karns City's Zach Angert was stopped by McIntosh to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with two kickers each remaining.

When Bauer scored, the Gremlins wouldn't be able to equal a three-goal deficit.

"John McIntosh has been improving consistently along with our defense," said Barber. "He's been bringing it home."

The game was scoreless after the first half, but it didn't take the Gremlins long to change that.

Mark Ferguson knocked in a corner kick from Andrew Harmon in front of a crowded net just 1 minute, 52 seconds into the second half for a 1-0 Gremlins lead.

That put the Cardinals (17-4) in an unfamiliar spot.

"We usually score early, but we were able to overcome it," said Barber. "During our recent (winning) streak, I can't remember the last time we were down.

"Karns City is a great team. I thought in the pre-season it would be between us," he added.

The Cardinals did bounce back, scoring the equalizer with 27:12 left when Manfredo outran coverage and scored off a long direct kick from near midfield.

Both teams had opportunities to take the lead but the goaltending of McIntosh and Lopresti remained strong. McIntosh finished with 14 saves and Lopresti had 12 before the penalty kicks.

"Mike played the game of his life," said Parker. "Both keepers shined. In the second half, I thought they outplayed us and Mike helped get us to overtime."

Parker also gave credit to the defensive players who helped to clamp down on the Gremlins' opponents, not just this game but all season.

"Cody McElravy, Evan Crawford, Dale Grimm, Mike Lopresti and Nathan Knox, they allow us to do what we can offensively," said Parker.

"This was the finest game the defense has ever played," he added.

Despite the loss, Parker is very optimistic the Gremlins (15-5) will be a major player in the D-9 title chase down the road.

"We have just three seniors and they had eight," said Parker. "I can't say enough about our young players and their style. They are playing at such a high level."