Caleb Foley scored the golden goal with 8:24 remaining in the first overtime as the top-seeded Red Dragons edged No. 8 Riverside, 3-2, in Section VI Class C quarterfinal action Thursday afternoon at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School.

“15-0 — I couldn’t stop it there,” Foley said after his winning goal. ” … We have a really good chance at winning a sectional title. … I’m just trying to keep the ball rolling.”

“Pure bliss is what I feel,” senior captain Zeke Olson added after the deciding tally. ” … It’s incredible to beat a team like this that is definitely somebody we should’ve seen much later on.”

The win sends Maple Grove into Monday’s 7:45 p.m. semifinal at Pioneer High School against No. 4 Holland, a 5-0 winner over No. 5 Portville on Thursday night.

Maple Grove’s Tristan Spillane, center, wins a header from Riverside’s Anry Son (16) and Najib Sayadi (6) during Thursday’s Section VI Class C quarterfinal at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School.

“Even in the hardest times we have to be resilient,” Maple Grove coach Cara Abbey said. “We went to overtime our very first game of the year. It was like 98 degrees outside and Caleb Foley came away with the win. … You don’t get to 16-0 easily. Every single time we’ve gotten down, we’ve found a way to claw our way back.”

The Frontiers posed a much bigger challenge than their No. 8 seed would suggest. They won the Class B-2 crown a season ago and played in a Buffalo Division 1 league with Class A-1s McKinley and Hutch Tech, Class A-2 International Prep and Class B-2s Lafayette and Burgard.

“Their whole league is (large) schools, so when they play they have to match those schools,” Foley said. “They gave us a run for our money.”

Riverside led 2-1 at halftime, but the Red Dragons tied things up early in the second half when a Frontiers’ defensive breakdown on a Maple Grove throw-in left Foley open for a shot in the right side of the 18-yard box. The junior struck a ball that beat Riverside keeper Eric Ndzemo to tie the game at 2-all.

“Caleb Foley has had a long road,” Abbey said. ” … He has really worked hard for the last two years. … He’d be the one staying after and it’s paying off.”

The Red Dragons’ Josh Golando sends a cross to a teammate.

Despite playing into the wind for the second half, the Frontiers did not fold.

Just over 11 minutes in, Basquale Sale sent a cross into the box. Confusion among the Maple Grove defense allowed Kizunga Omari to get a foot on the ball, but he sent it high over the goal and away from danger.

With 2:45 left in the second half, Red Dragons junior keeper Sam Cummings was called upon to make his best save of the afternoon as Omari took advantage of a misplayed ball and walked in alone before Cummings punched a poor-angle shot away to preserve the tie.

“You have to put the ball in the net. That’s why the goaltender is there,” Riverside coach Geoff Hurley said. “Their goaltender made some great saves and my goaltender made some great saves. At the end of the day, one team had to win it.”

With 40 seconds remaining, Foley sent a pass into the box for sophomore Tristan Spillane, but Ndzemo’s hard challenge turned away a potential game-winner.

Maple Grove then elected to take the wind in the first overtime. Neither team had any grade-A opportunities until Nick Golando slid a pass through the box to Foley, who tapped it under Ndzemo for the winning goal.

“Nick Golando is one of my most selfless players on the field,” Abbey said. ” … He’s just that type of kid. He doesn’t care about the glory for himself. He just wants it for Maple Grove. He could’ve taken that shot, but he knew he could trust Caleb Foley in that moment.”

The Red Dragons then chased their junior striker all the way past midfield before a dogpile ensued just in front of their cheering section.

“We’ve known for the last couple of weeks that it was a very real possibility that we would play Riverside,” Abbey said. ” … Better to play them at home, in the mud after not having to drive anywhere than on turf. It paid off for us today.”

Maple Grove took an early 1-0 lead when Jack Novotny converted a penalty kick during the fourth minute.

With 16:30 left in the first half, Jasper Maniriho was taken down in the Red Dragons’ 18-yard box and the Frontiers were awarded a penalty kick. After Sale initially approached the ball, Hurley elected to have Me Per Htoo take the kick, and the sophomore did not disappoint his coach, converting to tie the game at 1-1.

Riverside took the lead less than 12 minutes later when Maniriho settled a ball at the top of the 18-yard box, shielding his defender in the process, before spinning and sending a left-footed laser into the top of the Maple Grove net to make it 2-1.

But the Frontiers were unable to build on their lead before Foley’s 24th and 25th goals of the season sent the Red Dragons into the semifinals.

“We had to lock it down and defend our turf,” Olson said. “I’m so proud of this team.”

NOTES: Htoo’s goal was his fourth of the season while Maniriho’s was his third. … Novotny’s goal was his 13th of the year. … Jack Eimiller assisted on Foley’s first goal while Cummings made eight saves for the Red Dragons. … No. 3 Randolph will take on No. 2 Westfield/Brocton in Monday’s 5:15 p.m. semifinal at Pioneer. The Cardinals beat No. 6 Chautauqua Lake, 3-0, while the Wolverines beat No. 7 Silver Creek/Forestville, 7-0, in other quarterfinals Thursday.