Chaminade edges Iona Prep in CHSAA state semis

Tommy Roulis has a flair for the dramatic.

On Saturday, the Chaminade senior scored the late winner against archrival St. Anthony’s and on Thursday the Dartmouth-bound standout made a remarkable acrobatic goal-line save with less than two minutes remaining in a tense, scoreless match with Iona Prep in the CHSAA state semifinals.

“They say great players do it in the big moments and there aren’t two bigger moments,” Flyers coach Michael Gallagher said.

A little more than a minute later, Kory Seibt knocked in the dramatic winner with 1:32 left in regulation to seal Chaminade’s 1-0 victory Thursday night at Belson Stadium.

The Flyers, ranked No. 7 in the country by the NSCAA, advance to meet St. Francis Prep in Saturday’s state title game. The Terriers defeated Canisius (Buffalo), 1-0, in the other semifinal at St. John’s Thursday.

“He’s just that kid who is always there at the right time,” Seibt said of the two-time reining Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA league MVP. “He’s the best captain I’ve ever been with it.”

Seibt also found himself at the right place at the right time, concluding a set play Chaminade (17-1-3) actually worked on in Mineola before arriving in Queens Thursday night.

“Nick Codispoti played it across and coach always says if you’re too far past the goal to head it across, not to go for the shot,” Seibt said. “That’s exactly what Mike Lobben did and I was just there to put it in at the other end.”

Seibt said he’s been having trouble scoring this season, and he certainly had difficulty celebrating as the Flyers piled on the senior at the back post.

“It was amazing, absolutely amazing,” he said. “I didn’t even stand up, everyone came to me.”

Chaminade defeated Iona Prep (12-4-5), 3-0, in a non-league meeting in New Rochelle on Sept. 30, but the Gaels didn’t have star goalkeeper Alex Kapp in that meeting. Kapp, who missed most of the season with a broken wrist, did his part Thursday to keep his team in the game with his aggressiveness off his line.

“I thought we came out here and battled against the seventh ranked team in the country and I don’t think very much separated us,” Iona Prep coach Marcos Monteagudo said. “The scoreline says it.”

And for a few seconds late in the second half, it seemed Iona Prep might have pulled off another magical upset at Belson Stadium when Alem Pelincovic’s shot appeared destined to bounce into open net.

But Roulis saved the day again for Chaminade.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Roulis said. “It just kind of happened the way it unfolded.”

“Where did that kid come from?” Monteagudo asked

Good question, but it’s clear where Roulis, who scored on a long kick in the final minute in an emotional win against St. Anthony’s less than a week ago, is going.

“It’s just as good as Saturday,” Roulis said of beating Iona Prep. “We put Saturday behind us and we were looking forward to this game and we pulled it off. It’s just another step to the state finals now.”

dbutler@nypost.com