The Salisbury boys’ soccer senior class patiently waited for the elusive district championship that it had been chasing for years.

The Falcons’ historic season took another step forward last week, led by those seniors. A win against District 2 champion Scranton Prep in the PIAA Class 2A tournament advanced Salisbury to the quarterfinal round and just three wins away from a state title.

That’s where Salisbury’s run in the state tournament came to an end. Lansdale Catholic, the District 12 champion, got three goals from Noah Saba to down the Falcons 5-1 on Saturday at Parkland High School.

“They play in the Philly Catholic League,” Allinson said. “They play a lot of those teams, and it was familiar to back in the day when I played with those teams. They were phenomenal players. Their record certainly was deceiving. We knew they had a talented goal-scorer, and he did us in.

“It’s a shame that it has to end for us. We certainly wish them well. Just to get to this point is a tribute to our kids and the hard work they put in. I can’t forget that.”

The Crusaders jumped on Salisbury from the gate, a position that the Falcons hadn’t been in all season. And once Josh Urasits punched in the game’s first goal in the 20th minute, the Falcons couldn’t muster enough offense to respond.

“They had some really big kids, so we weren’t used to playing against a good midfield like that,” said Salisbury senior Ethan Heydt. “Their forward obviously was a good goal-scorer, so he was able to get behind us a few times and that was unexpected.”

That forward was Saba, who got in the scoring department a little more than seven minutes later. His strike through Salisbury goalie Tyler Keller, assisted by Matthew Noti, gave Lansdale Catholic a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead at halftime.

Saba then scored eight minutes into the second half on a pass from Urasits, and shortly added his third goal for his second hat trick in as many state playoff games.

“We went about it sort of the way that we went about playing Palisades,” Allinson said. “We figured this kid was somewhat comparable to Cooper Moyer. He was just a little bit more crafty on us. When you get to this particular point, mistakes are magnified.

“It’s a different kind of soccer. You saw the size that these guys have. They’re going to do some damage I think.”

Lansdale Catholic faced District 4 champion Lewisburg in the Class 2A semifinals on Tuesday. The winner faces the survivor of a District 7 clash in the other semifinals match between champion Quaker Valley and second-place finisher Shady Side.

James Hadinger, one of 10 seniors on this year’s Salisbury boys team that made history under Allinson, scored on a penalty kick with less than 22 minutes to play. That would be the Falcons’ final goal of a memorable 2016 season.

“It’s kind of like the perfect way to end a career,” Heydt said. “I don’t think we’ve won a state game in 13 years. That was a huge accomplishment for us, and we should really be proud of what we did this season.”

“It’s been a successful four years with these guys,” Allinson said. “Three district finals and we end up getting the championship this year. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get that district championship, and they were certainly awarded for all their efforts throughout their four years.”