It might have seemed odd that Windham’s boys soccer team, with just two wins during the season, took the field Wednesday at Cheverus for a Class A playoff game.

The Eagles, however, tied five opponents, including each of the three that finished directly above them in the Heal point standings. They also lost three one-goal games along the way.

With a few more breaks, Windham could have finished seeded significantly higher.

Not convinced? Well, the 12th-ranked Eagles (2-7-5) played a solid first half against the fifth-seeded Stags (9-2-3), had the lead until Cheverus converted one of their two penalty shots and lost, 2-1, with just 19 seconds remaining in overtime.

It was a heartbreaker.

“They played a hell of a game,” said Windham coach Jim O’Connor. “The kids played their hearts out. We had our chances and we didn’t finish.”

The Eagles neutralized their opponents for most of the first half, with Derek Hanrahan and Ben Toppi turning back most Stag attempts to get something going offensively.

When they did get by, as Cheverus back Matt Palmer did with nine minutes to go in the half, goalkeeper Zach Cantor was there to make the play.

Windham had a few opportunities as well, and with 3:15 on the clock, converted one to take the lead when Dylan O’Connor sent a ball toward the hosts’ net. Teammate Garrett McDonnell moved toward the goal and a Stags defender came to him.

Between the angle of the ball and the position of the defender, it didn’t look as though McDonnell would have much of a play, but he leaped and was just able to make enough contact with the ball to send it toward the net. Cheverus keeper Todd Pelkey, moving up to play the ball, was caught out of position and the ball bounced in.

“We really came out strong,” said Toppi. “We had a talk about confidence and how we needed to play our game and avoid all other distractions.”

The Stags regrouped and put much more pressure on the Eagles in the second half.

At 13:37, Cheverus forward Matt Williams was awarded a penalty kick and he went to Cantor’s left. The junior keeper got a hand on it, but the ball dribbled in, tying the score.

Windham bounced back to even the play in the middle of the period, but the Stags dominated the latter minutes. With 8:30 to go, the visitors averted defeat when a fallen Hanrahan kicked the ball away from his goal and the Cheverus follow-up caromed off Toppi.

Another Stags flurry resulted in a second penalty kick for Williams with 2:27 remaining. Cantor knocked away the shot, giving his team renewed enthusiasm and sending the contest into overtime.

Cheverus continued to have the upper hand in OT, but the Eagles held them off until Stags forward Brian McDonough scored with 19 seconds left.

“Our record isn’t indicative of how good a team this was,” said O’Connor. “If they’re the fifth best team, we’re sixth best. It’s been a hard-luck season for the kids.”

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