The Platteville/Lancaster boys’ soccer team’s roller coaster ride of a regular season finished on an ultimate high last Thursday evening.
          The Hillmen spotted visiting River Valley an early 1–0 lead, blew a 3–2 lead in the final two minutes of regulation, but salvaged victory in double overtime.
          Platteville senior Matt Roling converted a turnover into the game-winning goal in the 109th minute to lift the Hillmen to a wild 4–3 SWC victory.
          “That finish in double overtime was one of the wildest finishes to a game I’ve ever been a part of,” said first-year Platteville/Lanacster coach Brandon Pink.
          River Valley’s Chris Luedke tied the match at 3–3 and sent it to overtime with and unassisted goal the 79th minute — his second goal in a 17-minute span late in regulation.
          Both overtime periods produced a very open style of play with a lot of shots coming in from both sides.
          With just under three minutes remaining in the second 15-minute overtime period, Lancaster sophomore Julian LaBudda appeared to win the match for the co-op team.
          LuBudda and River Valley keeper Graham Westly collided on a 50/50 ball right in front of the Valley net. LaBudda won the ball and put it in, but was judged to have fouled the keeper.
          On the ensuing free kick, Westley inadvertently kicked the ball right to Roling who was 30 yards out.
          Roling drove at the goal from the left hand side, beat one defender, and shot across the goal into the far corner to lift the Hillmen to victory.
          “It was a very, very entertaining game and will hopefully give us momentum heading into the postseason,” added Pink.
Valley (1–14–2, 0–10–1) held a 1–0 halftime lead on the strength of Hunter Pulvermacher goal in the 30th minute.
          Platteville senior Justin Schaefer evened the match three minutes into the second half with a penalty kick goal.
          Platteville senior Ben Kroll continued with late-season scoring surge giving the Hillmen a 2–1 lead on a goal that was assisted by La Budda.
          Luedke tied the match at 2–2 with a goal in the 62nd minute before Schaefer scored his fourth goal in the last two matches on a nice pass from Kroll.
          Platteville/Lancaster finished the regular season 7–14–1 overall and 7–5 in the SWC, 11/2 games behind champion Richland Center (9–10–1, 8–3–1 SWC).
          The Hillmen earned the 10th seed in the Mount Horeb sectional and traveled to seventh-seeded Monroe on Tuesday to open the WIAA Division 2 regional playoffs. With a win they will play either No. 2 Evansville or #15 Edgerton.
          Last Tuesday visiting Dodgeville/Mineral Point built a 3–0 lead and held on for a 3–2 conference victory over the Hillmen at Platteville High School.
          Ethan Elsner scored in the 21st minute to make it 1–0. Then Ryan Bell (45:00) and Jonah Nelson (47:00) both scored two minutes apart early in the second half to make it 3–0.
          Schaefer put the Hillmen on the board in the 71st with an assists from Roling, then pulled the co-op within a goal on a penalty kick two minutes later, but Platteville/Lancaster eventually ran out of time.
          “Injuries have really impacted our defense over the last few games, and Dodgeville/Mineral Point was able to capitalize on that,” said Pink. “We clawed ourselves back into the game at the very end, and had several great chances to tie it up, but we didn’t. Getting a good start is critical for us, and we didn’t do it this game.”
 
Platteville/Lancaster 4, River Valley 3 (OT)
(from Thursday, Oct. 4 @ Platteville)
River Valley                 1    2    0    0    —  3
Platteville/Lancaster    0    3    1    0    —  4
First half
RV: Hunter Pulvermacher 30:00
Second half
P/L: Justin Schaefer (PK) 43:00, Ben Kroll (Julian LaBudda) 44:00, Schaefer (Kroll) 76:00; RV: Chris Luedke 62:00, Luedke 79:00.
Second Overtime
P/L: Matt Roling 109:00.
Saves: P/L: Devon Briggs 9; RV: Graham Westley 16. Shots: P/L 20, RV 12. Shots on Goal: P/L 20, RV 12. Corner kicks: P/L 4, RV 3.

Dodgeville/Mineral Point 3, Platteville/Lancaster 2
(from Tuesday, Oct. 2 @ Platteville)
Dodgeville/Mineral Point    1    2        —    3
Platteville/Lancaster        0    2        —    2
First half
D/MP: Ethan Elsner 21:00.
Second half
D/MP: Ryan Bell 45:00, Jonah Nelson 47:00; P/L: Justin Schaefer (Matt Roling) 71:00, Schaefer (PK) 73:00.
Saves: P/L: Devon Briggs 4; D/MP: Steve Stadler 9. Shots: D/MP 7, D/MP 14. Shots on Goal: D/MP 13, P/L 7. Corner kicks: D/MP 3; P/L 4.