ROSEVILLE — It was headed for overtime. It was going to be an epic finish.

Then it was over.

Simley’s Oja Ena shocked the Packers and ended their season with a late goal in the Spartans 2-1 victory in the first round of the Class ‘A’ boys state soccer tournament Thursday at Roseville Area High School.

Ena snuck through the Austin defense off an in-bounds pass and fired a shot to the inside corner of the net to put Simley (19-1-4 overall) in control with just 58 seconds to play.

“You know that feeling when something so good happens it doesn’t even hit you until later,” Austin senior midfielder Jacob Brehmer said. “This is like the opposite of that. It’s so bad and I know it’s just going to keep getting worse because we were so close.”

Brehmer tied the match just four minutes before Ena’s strike when he knocked in a penalty kick. The penalty kick was set up when Austin’s Pedro Herrera was boxed out of a rebound opportunity near the Simley goal.

“We’re thinking we got a shot to go into overtime,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “Then a kid gets the ball, makes a space and shoots it as soon as he gets the space. It was a good finish.”

Brehmer said he would’ve liked Austin’s chances in overtime as they had just tied the match after trailing for 46 minutes. Simley’s only other goal came on a penalty kick by Ben Royce in the 29th minute.

“(Tying the match) had everyone going and we thought we could get them in overtime or win it with PKs. We’re confident with our PKs,” Brehmer said.

Simley, which is ranked No. 2 in the state, was the favorite heading into the match. But the Packers (14-6 overall) didn’t back down as keeper Ryan Rasell made a couple of diving saves early on and the Austin defense limited most of the Spartans’ shots to outside of the box.

“We played a heck of a game against the second ranked team in the state, but there’s no way to feel good about it,” Brehmer said. “It’s tough to go out like this.”

The match was played in heavy winds and rains. Simley had the wind to its backs in the first half, and it allowed them to control possession for the first 40 minutes. Austin’s only first half threat came on a header from Henry Darling that sailed over the goal with 1:50 left in the first half.

In the second half, Austin took the wind and was much more aggressive and had a few more chances, but it couldn’t put enough goals on the board.

“The wind was a huge factor, its just too bad we couldn’t take advantage a little more up top,” Levisen said. “We were right in there with them and under better playing conditions it would’ve been a little better game. The cold and the rain is tough. But that’s Minnesota soccer.”

Austin played most of the night without one of their top scorers, Martin Manocchio, who was bothered by a hip flexor. But the senior forward gutted it out for the last 20 minutes and he made the time count by getting a couple of good shots off.

“I just said ‘go see if you can do something because we need you,’” Levisen said.

It’ll be tough for the 14 graduating seniors of Austin to get over the loss. But Levisen said he’s proud of this group for more than their accomplishments on the field.

“They’re a good group of kids,” he said. “They’re all around good kids and not just good soccer players. They’re good with academics and community involvement. They have a lot of very strong attributes.”

It was the first ever state tournament appearance for Austin, which attempted four shots on goal. Simley had five shots on goal.

Simley will play Hermantown, which beat Mankato West 5-1 Thursday, Monday at 2 p.m .in the Metrodome.