CLYDE, Ohio —  The St. Francis de Sales soccer team suffered its first loss of the season as the Knights’ goal of winning a state title came to a heartbreaking end in the Division II state semifinals on Tuesday night.

No. 1-ranked St. Francis (17-1-4) held a 1-0 lead over No. 2-ranked Avon (17-1-3) at the half. But the defending state champion Eagles scored two unanswered goals off of set pieces in the second half to win 2-1.

St. Francis earned a 1-0 lead after scoring on a corner kick near the midpoint of the first half. Connor Weaver sent in the corner kick, and the ball deflected in off of Avon defender Cole Veverka. The Knights went up by one with the goal on the set piece in the 24th minute of the first half.

But Avon’s Brayden Carlin scored the game-winner, completing the comeback with 3:45 left on a header from off of a corner kick.

The Knights, who outscored their opponents 50-7 this season en route to a Catholic High School League Bishop Division title, made it to the state final four for the first time since 2003. They fell 1-0 to Westerville North in the title game that season.

“It's tough,” St. Francis coach Mike Kern said. “It's tough on everyone, players, coaches, [and] all the faculty and students that came and supported us. That was huge. But it's a part of life. Unfortunately, they're still young men growing emotionally, and I don't think they really understand when you get to this level, there's one team that wins and one that goes home.”

Avon advances to play Brecksville-Broadview Heights — which beat New Albany 1-0 in the semifinal — in the state title game on Monday at 7 p.m. at Scotts-Miracle Gro Field  in Columbus.

Avon tied it at 1 on a goal from London Carnie with 23:10 left in the second half. The goal came off of a scramble in the box after a free kick by the Eagles, as St. Francis goalie Joel Neary had no chance to stop the laser shot from close range.

Moments later, Neary made a good stop on a shot from in tight to keep it tied.

In the physical, high-energy battle at Clyde High School, chippy play led to several free kicks, particularly for Avon in the second half.

“That’s a very good opponent we just played,” Avon coach Chris Dore said. “I don’t think they’d been behind in a game this season. But we didn't play the way that I know that we can play. We were a little too amped up, but I was not panicking being down one goal at halftime. We showed some grit coming back against a team like that.”

Both teams came out with good energy and had moments of sustained pressure over the first 10 minutes. The Knights had a 4-3 edge in shots in the tight first half.

St. Francis nearly grabbed a 2-0 lead when Gavin Trent had a point-blank chance stopped by Avon keeper Owen Huron 6:40 into the second half. Moments later the Knights looked they had earned a penalty kick when a player was taken down in the box but no call was made.

Trent had another great chance with just under six minutes left when his shot hit the crossbar.

Avon then had most of the possession in the Knights’ end later in the second half.

“That’s a quality team. You could tell they've been here before, and you know they got the result,” Kern said. “We just didn't play our game. They came out and really just did what they wanted to do tactically. They controlled momentum most of the second half, and we just didn't know how to respond to that. We had a lack of emotional self-control. But you know that that's hindsight.”

Neary had 17 shutouts during the season.

“Joel is not just crucial for this program, he is a focal point of that school,” Kern said. “He's mature beyond his years. He's just such a gift to our community, our brotherhood, a role model for everyone, including coaches.”

St. Francis also had a chance to pad its lead on a free kick from Cayden Gordy from 37 yards but it went wide.

The Eagles have outscored their foes 74-11 and were back in the state semifinals for the second straight season.

The Knights will look back to get to this moment without its 13 seniors that helped pave the way this year.

“This is years’ worth of work,” Kern said. “The seniors started training with us four years ago and I told them to be proud of what they've done. We haven't done this in 23 years. They left everything on the pitch. There's no sense of going back and thinking about what they could have done. The what ifs are irrelevant.

“I’m proud of them beyond beyond words. We have a special bond with each and every one of these boys, and it goes outside of the classroom on the pitch. We love them. They're great kids.”