There was plenty of drama for the Austin boys soccer team in Albert Lea Thursday night.

The Packers were playing against their rivals on the road with a second half deficit in the driving rain, but they found a way to beat the Tigers (8-6 overall, 6-5 Big Nine) 2-1.

Lonyjera Okal scored the game-winning goal for the Packers (12-0-2 overall, 9-0-1 Big Nine) with 30 seconds left in the game after Kevin Ortiz scored on a penalty kick with 18:52 left in the game. Austin fired off 41 shots, but it didn’t have a lot of room to shoot as the Tigers pulled their defense back.

“We basically saw what their strategy was. They had one quick guy up top and everybody else stayed back and played defense,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “Our guys didn’t lose focus. The guys didn’t lose heart and they kept saying they were going to make this happen. They kept taking shots.”

Josh Brehmer had five saves for Austin.

The Packers are now one win from their first Big Nine title in school history as they play in Rochester Century on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re definitely going to go after it,” Levisen said. “The guys are motivated for sure. We want to get that win.”