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Red Lion holds off Dallastown in overtime thriller


Almost a half hour after Red Lion's game had ended Wednesday night, freshman Elijah Workinger was still shaking.

The underclassman, making just his second varsity appearance, had just scored the game-tying goal against rival Dallastown with 15 seconds left in regulation, then won the game for the Lions less than 40 seconds into overtime. As he raised his arms in the air, his teammates and bench raced toward him and the celebratory mobbing began.

"I was thinking just play, don't be nervous and just do what you do," Workinger said of his mindset with the ball in overtime.

Red Lion head coach Stefan Striffler added: "He's a heck of a player. He deserves to be here and he deserves to be on varsity because he's one of our best players."

Red Lion's 7-6 win marked its first win over Dallastown since May 2011, a streak spanning seven games. It nearly almost reached eight. Red Lion blew a 5-1 lead in the fourth as Dallastown scored five straight goals, capped off by Andrew Kvasnovsky's second goal of the day that gave the Wildcats their first lead with 45 seconds left. The advantage was brief, however, as Sam Emig bounced up after a hit behind the Dallastown net and found Workinger -- who scored three times -- lurking in front of the net for the tying goal.

"I can't believe it, oh my God, we're down by one," Striffler said of his first thoughts after Dallastown's run. "Then the other part of me was thinking we have Mason (Gauntt), we can get the faceoff and get a good shot. It went back and forth emotionally."

Jac Gemmill finished with a goal and two assists for Red Lion and Dallastown's Jack Marks, who Striffler called the "best goalie in the county," finished with 22 saves.