Manchester Memorial’s players erupted in a raucous celebration on the sidelines after erasing a 2-0 deficit late in the second half of its semifinal match against top-seeded Pinkerton Academy.

Eighteen seconds later, the Crusaders had nothing left to be excited about.

Pinkerton and Memorial combined to score six goals in the second half of their Class L contest on Nov. 4, but the Astros bounced back to score the final two, advancing to the title game and winning against Concord, 1-0.

After a scoreless first half, Pinkerton scored just 49 seconds into the second frame.

“That’s just poor halftime coaching on my part,” said Paul Ostberg, Memorial’s mentor. “It’s just the signature of a championship team to come out that quick, and for us it was the signature of a fourth-seeded team.”

After a second Astros goal made the score 2-0, the Crusaders’ postseason chances appeared slim, but with 16:35 remaining, freshman Peguy Ngatcha made a spin move inside the box and fired a shot off the crossbar.

Though Ngatcha’s shot didn’t go in, Sean MacDonald’s rebound did, cutting the lead in half. Less than eight minutes later, the Crusaders took advantage of a loose ball following a collision with the Pinkerton goalie, and MacDonald notched the gametying score, igniting the Memorial bench.

“We changed our formation up, and that really opened up the offensive game,” said Ostberg. “When we scored the second (goal), we stayed in our 3-4-3 formation. We really didn’t expect them to score that quickly.”

Following the equalizer, Pinkerton carried the ball down the field, putting a shot on goal that bounced back out to Michael Wanelik, who found the back of the net.

The Astros sealed their spot in the finals when Wanelik dropped a chip shot into the net from 45 yards out, leaving the Crusaders down two goals with 4:07 left.

In recent years Memorial has been knocked out of the tournament early, something that has frustrated Ostberg.

“We need to get used to playing more playoff games. It comes down to one mistake, one chance. Every little thing is magnified,” said Ostberg. “This is like a recurring nightmare for me.”