BERKLEY >> The No. 12 Berkley Bears edged past the Birmingham Groves Falcons 3-2 in a back-and-forth Division 1 district quarterfinal affair Thursday night.

Zoran Djordjevic got the game-winner for the hosts with 29:09 to play in the second half. He stole the ball, turned toward the Groves net and unleashed a left-footed shot that skipped into the back of the net to break the 2-2 tie and give the Bears the lead for the third time on the night.

Prior to Djordjevic’s blast, the teams had twice traded goals.

Berkley went in front early when a cross got through to Kai Nelson at the top of the penalty area and Nelson stepped into a high volley, blasting the ball into the top of the net less than four minutes into the game.

But despite Berkley’s early dominance, the Falcons were able to settle down and battle back. Groves tied the game with about 11 minutes to play in the first half when Daniel Rauscher headed in a rebound following a free kick, making it 1-1.

Shots were not overly plentiful for either team, but both sides were efficient with the chances they had as momentum swung back and forth.

The Falcons’ defense, anchored by Luca Mollo, gave Berkley very few opportunities in the second half. In fact, two of Berkley’s three goals on the night were long range strikes — both by Djordjevic.

“It was a tight game. There weren’t many chances between both teams. The chances that did come were either from breaks of play or from set pieces,” Groves head coach Paul Thomas said. “But I was pleased with the way the boys performed. I thought they defended really well with their hearts and with their bodies.”

Berkley’s defense, led by center backs and senior captains Sam Niyo and August Cumming, was just as good, especially down the stretch. Once the Bears got the lead, Groves only had one more shot on goal the rest of the game, though the Falcons had a few decent chances towards the end that they put wide.

“It was a very tight game, very competitive,” Thomas said. “We were pushing towards the end. We had three or four pretty good chances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get over the line. But it was a great game.”

“I give my back line a ton of credit. Groves tried to put a lot of balls over the top, and we did a great job with some good clearances, and that back line was tremendous today,” Bears head coach Steve Wloszek said. “Amongst those four, they’ve had a ton of varsity experience and starting experience, so we put a lot of faith in those four guys,” he added.

With the win, Berkley improves to 16-4-2 and advances to Monday’s district semifinals at Royal Oak where they will face Troy Athens. The other semifinal will feature another pair of Oakland Activities Association Red teams when Troy and Birmingham Seaholm face off in the second game.

Groves finishes a solid year 8-5-2. The Falcons will graduate 11 players.