It took two overtimes but the South Whidbey High School soccer team prevailed in a 2-1 district tournament win over visiting Granite Falls Wednesday.

The victory locked up a berth in the bi-district tournament for the Falcons (14-2-1). They now play Cedar Park Christian (10-6) at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at King’s to determine the third and fourth seeds into bi-district.

Granite Falls (9-8) must defeat Meridian (3-13-2) Saturday to earn a bi-district berth.

South Whidbey “played one of the most exciting playoff games I have coached in,” Terry Swanson said after the Granite Falls match.

The Falcons scored the golden goal three minutes into the second five-minute overtime when Mikenna Wicher tallied “on a beautiful volley” off a pass from Mallory Drye, Swanson said.

The match was a defensive battle as Swanson expected, as the Tigers packed the box and crowded the passing lanes.

The Falcons dominated possession and allowed no shots on goal the first half.

Ten minutes before the break, Elizabeth Haines opened the scoring off Ashton Helseth’s corner kick.

With six minutes left in regulation, the Falcons hesitated on a ball they thought was out of bounds and ended up committing a contact foul. That allowed the Tigers to tie the match.

“From that point on, Granite Falls was simply trying to run out the clock and get the game to PKs,” Swanson said.

South Whidbey “came out on fire” in overtime, according to Swanson, and had multiple shots but couldn’t convert.

The Falcons finally broke through in the second OT when Wicher found the back of the net.

“I never saw such a happy group of Falcon players,” Swanson said. “It was well-played game by both teams and the Granite Falls team showed amazing grace and class in defeat.”