EAST PROVIDENCE — There's leaving it late and then there's leaving it ridiculously late, which is exactly what the East Providence High School boys' soccer team did in a 4-3 victory over visiting Central in a Division I preliminary round playoff outing Monday night, Oct. 30.

The eighth-seeded Townies shockingly scored three times in the last five minutes of the contest to turn a two-goal deficit into a one-goal win.

"It was a magic Monday in EP," said EPHS head coach Tim Calouro. "Three goals in five minutes, now that's believing."

For its effort, East Providence gets a crack at top-seeded LaSalle Friday night, Nov. 3, in Providence. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. The Townies improved to 7-7-1 in D-I games with Monday's win. Ninth-seeded Central's season ended with a 6-9-0 mark in league outings.

East Providence was on its last leg, trailing 3-1 in the 75th minute when the hosts got one back. The sequence began on a long shot by Nathan Capelo. Central's Gerson Lopez made the initial save, punching it off the cross bar, but the Townies' Jordan Rodrigues was there for the rebound header to make it 3-2.

Some two minutes later, East Providence was at it again. And it was Capelo who once more initiated the score. His free kick following a Central foul found its way deep inside the Knights' 18. Sam Jackson got the first touch for the Townies. His shot was blocked as was Rodrigues's first attempt, but he put back his own shot to tie the score.

The momentum now completely in EP's favor, the Townies continued to press and found what proved the game-winning goal in the 78th minute. Capelo's third assist of the night came off a corner, which he sent towards the back post and where Jackson made a run before heading in past Lopez for the tally.

Central made one last push, creating a corner in the final minute, but the Knights did not get a shot on net.

"I moved players around and kept gambling," Calouro said of the second half and chaotic final minutes. "I told them to keep running until their legs fall off and leave it on the field. Once we scored in the second half, they started flying and believing."

For much of the night, it appeared as though East Providence's fortunes were as wet as  the wind-swept rainy conditions that hovered over Townie Stadium.

The teams traded early chances. The Knights had the better of the looks, forcing EPHS keeper James McShane to make two quality saves. The second, in fact, was superb, the senior netminder defending a 1-v-1 breakaway with a diving kick save in the seventh minute. Those stops would prove vital to the Townies' chances much later in the evening.

East Providence dominated possession over the next 10 minutes, but the locals did not create any scoring chances.

It was Central that finally broke through with the game's first goal, a low shot by Emanuel Moreno in the 30th minute that beat McShane to his right.

The Townies had a handful of chances to tie the score, but appeared headed to intermission trailing. However, in the 38th minute some indecisive Central defending lead to hosts' first goal.

EP's William Rodrigues kept the pressure on, eventually gathering the ball near the end line, spinning and sending a feed towards the center of the field where a speeding Capelo ripped a shot off a Central backliner and into the Knights' net.

The early part of the second half played out a lot like the first with Central finally being able to find the go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute.

A seemingly innocuous sequence ended in a second Moreno tally, this time he rifled a shot from 30 yards out past McShane to put the Knights up 2-1.

About four minutes later, an EP foul led to a Central free kick then a corner. The low, semi-short attempt was one-touched by a Knight to Mark Santos inside the 18, who slipped it by a vulnerable McShane to make it 3-1 visitors.

In the 64th minute, the Townies appeared to have trimmed their deficit, however the potential goal was nullified for goaltender interference.  Central's Lopez rose up to make a save on the high shot, but couldn't corral the ball and an EP player was there to put it in.  The official, though, quickly waved it off, ruling a Townie had made excessive contact with the Knights' netminder.

EP's reward for Monday's win is the trip to LaSalle, which took first place in the regular season with a 13-1-0 record.  One of those wins for the Rams was a 6-0 victory over the Townies in late September.

The locals trailed only 1-0 at the half before LaSalle poured it on in the second. In spite of the one-sided final score, Calouro deemed it one of his team's better efforts of the year.

"(LaSalle head coach and former EPHS soccer great) Mario (Pereira) was here and he will be prepared," Calouro said after Monday's game. "We have to play our best soccer and lock in mentally, but we're excited for Friday."