Contrasting emotions flowed over Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s lacrosse field late Tuesday night after visiting St. Xavier struck for the winning goal with 1.5 seconds remaining in a 7-6 victory.

The Tigers, from Louisville, Ky., were lucky to escape with a victory, but that was small consolation to the Saints, whose players kneeled and sprawled disconsolately after Clarence Smith took a Peter Murphy pass from behind the net and converted an unchallenged look at goaltender C.J. White from five yards.

When the subsequent faceoff allowed time to expire, St. Xavier’s ecstatic players rushed the field en masse, creating a yellow-clad dogpile and filling the 50-degree air with happy screams as the Saints walked off in shock.

“I’m going to remind the boys what that felt like and use it for motivation,” said NSA coach Ian Patrick, whose team now faces a make-or-break, three-game stretch in its quest for the program’s first Tidewater Conference title since 2005. “From a teaching standpoint, that last play will be a good thing, but it was heartbreaking at the same time.”

St. Xavier, a four-time Kentucky state champion, surrendered a Carter Pearson goal late in the first quarter that opened the scoring before leading 4-2 at halftime. The Saints’ long-pole defenders struggled to stay with St. Xavier’s jackrabbit attackmen and NSA had problems clearing the ball all night, leading to midfield turnovers and long stretches playing without possession.

“The pace of the game was so fast and we had to settle down on our clears,” Patrick said. “We need to gradually work it up, move backwards if we have to, and if it’s not there on one side of the field, send the ball over to the other. We were looking upfield too far and too quickly.”

St. Xavier appeared to be pulling away when star midfielder Chase Carraro ripped off a faceoff victory and scored 20 seconds into the second half. That put the Tigers up 5-2 and the smaller, less-athletic Saints could have easily rolled over. Instead, NSA attackman Pearson scored the next three goals in less than three minutes and forged a 5-5 tie with 5:17 to play in the third quarter.

The visitors took a 6-5 lead on a goal with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter. However, NSA eighth-grade wunderkind Harris Howell won the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter and started a fast break that ended with yet another Pearson goal, his fifth of the night, and a 6-6 deadlock 10 seconds into the final stanza.

“Our guys rose to the challenge big time,” Patrick said. “They were tough, they fought for every ground ball and that third quarter was our reward.”

A late turning point came when Saints defensive midfielder Vincent Hochstrasser knocked the ball loose from a Tiger and long-pole defender Josh Todd rumbled across midfield with it. Todd passed to Pearson in the box surrounding the St. Xavier net, meaning NSA could now take a time out, but Patrick allowed play to run.

The gamble didn’t pay off, as St. Xavier regained possession and took a time out of its own with 24 seconds to play and the ball in NSA’s end. When action restarted, Patrick said the Tigers went back to a particular play that had worked for them several times earlier, and cashed it in for Smith’s goal.

“I saw it happening about four or five seconds before they scored,” the coach said. “We got exploited because we made two or three mistakes on the same play. We’re going to set that situation up in practice and make sure we don’t let it happen to us again.”

Despite the loss, the Saints’ overall showing was a large plus. With conference foes Hampton Roads Academy, Norfolk Academy and Cape Henry Collegiate waiting in the next 10 days, NSA will need similar efforts to take a serious run at the circuit’s crown.

“We have a huge week and a half coming up,” Patrick said. “There’s nothing more you can really say about it.”