Brave SC’s first match of the USL League Two playoffs didn’t go according to plan. The game didn’t happen at the originally scheduled time or place and the Buffalo (10-1-2) certainly didn’t want to open the tournament by playing extra time.

But, at the end of it all, they emerged victorious with a 2-1 win over Sarasota Paradise in the Southern Conference quarterfinals Friday night at Buncombe County Sports Park in Asheville.

“We dance depending on the music,” head coach Anderson DaSilva laughed afterwards.

The match was originally to be played on the campus of UNC Asheville, but heavy storms flooded Greenwood Field, forcing both scheduled matches to relocate to the sports park. As a result, the Buffalo and Paradise (8-2-3) kicked off more than two hours after their originally scheduled start time.

The match started well for the Buffalo, with Ferreira banging in a shot off the crossbar from long distance in the 18th minute.

“I was looking for a pass, as I usually do, and (center back) Leo (Andrade) actually yelled — and I normally don’t listen to anyone — and said, ‘Take a shot!’” Ferreira recounted.

“When the ball hit the top corner and went in, I didn’t even know what to do.”

That goal carried Brave to halftime with the lead, but things soured in the second half. Goalkeeper Mathias Tieppo sustained an injury that forced him off the field and the Buffalo had to turn to backup Micah Fockler, a former Brave SC youth club player making his debut on the 18-man roster.

Fockler immediately faced controversy. Moments after checking in, he set the ball for a goal kick and passed it to center back Henrique Gallina on his left, who thought that he would be taking the kick and picked it up to set it, drawing a whistle for a handball in the box.

Sarasota scored on the resulting penalty kick to equalize in the 70th minute.

“We had to not let the PK affect us,” Fockler said. “We all wanted to complain about what just happened… but we didn’t. No one said a word, and I think our mental edge showed there.”

Over the final 20 minutes, the Buffalo pressed hard and took multiple dangerous shots, including an attempt by Nicolai Muench that skipped off the left post. However, the teams reached the end of regulation still knotted.

Brave reclaimed its lead early in the first period of extra time as Nazar Deputat, who came off the bench to play left back, drove up the wing and corralled a pass from Lui Bradbury to try a shot from point-blank range. It skipped off the hands of the Sarasota keeper and in.

“Initially, I thought it hit the side netting because the keeper saved it,” said Deputat, a Central Florida native in his sixth year with the club. “Then, I saw it was in the back netting and I just started running. I just started screaming and running. I didn’t know what to do.”

The Buffalo held onto their lead from there, finishing the remaining 25 minutes of extra time with fairly little threat from their opponents and, at long last, celebrated their victory on the pitch.

“It feels great,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said. “It almost became a nightmare. We had the game under control and we literally gave them the goal, but we played the extra time and still controlled the game.”

With the win, Brave SC will move on to play the winner of host Asheville City SC and Nona FC in the conference semifinals Sunday night in Asheville.

For more information on Brave SC, including the roster and complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.