FAIRFIELD — By any measurable statistic, the Old Town field hockey team should have walked away with a Class B North quarterfinal victory Wednesday afternoon. The Coyotes enjoyed decided advantages in shots on goal, penalty corners and time of possession.

Where the Coyotes fell short came in the intangibles.

“We played with such heart at the end,” Lawrence coach Shawna Robinson said after her fourth-seeded Bulldogs ousted No. 5 Old Town, 2-1, in double overtime. “They didn’t quit, and that’s what we’ve been asking from them all year. Don’t quit, don’t quit. I’m so proud of them.”

Lawrence advanced to play at No. 1 Foxcroft in a regional semifinal Friday.

Sophomore Macie Larouche scored the decisive goal 4:22 into the second extra session. Larouche intercepted a weak clearance deep in the Old Town end, then beat her defender to the end line before turning to the goal. Her initial centering pass for Alexis Lewis was blocked right back to her, and with Old Town goalie Grace Pushor having stepped out of her cage to play the pass, Larouche had a virtually empty cage to shoot at.

“No matter what, it would have gone in. (Lewis) was right there,” Larouche said. “It was awesome. I’m so excited. I’m so pumped. This is amazing.”

Robinson was happy to see Larouche come through in the seven-on-seven overtime.

“That was huge. I think she needed that for her confidence,” Robinson said. “She had a play (in the first overtime) where she should have been in a spot down on the post, and I got a little angry at her. It was great to see her bounce back.”

After Lawrence (11-4-0) opened the game with a good run of play, Old Town took over the final 25 minutes of the first half. The Coyotes (11-4-0) started the scoring with Brooke Sullinski’s goal less than nine minutes in.

The theme continued for Old Town in the second half but the visitors could not add to their lead despite outshooting Lawrence 6-1 and enjoying a 10-1 advantage in penalty corners over the final 30 minutes of regulation. The lone Bulldog shot, however, produced the tying goal off the stick of Lewis.

Nora Buck collected a loose ball at midfield and raced all the way down the right side before centering to Lewis, who redirected it past Pushor to tie the game with 23 minutes left.

“It really comes down to capitalizing on opportunities. That’s something we struggled with a little bit today,” Old Town coach Jamie Emerson said. “I thought we could have run away with that one, but it just didn’t go our way.”

In the first overtime, the Coyotes produced the best scoring chance of the session off a penalty corner. Lauren Gasaway’s drive from the top of the circle was met by a solid pad save from Bulldog goalie Marian Zawistowski (15 saves), a sophomore playing in her first career playoff game.

“(Zawistowski) played incredible today. Just incredible,” Robinson said, noting the 13 penalty corners they were forced to defend in total. “She had no fear.”

The two teams had played only one overtime game this season between them, and there were questions on both sides as they headed for extra time. With fewer players on the field, more space and fatigue to deal with, the game became about which side could muster the energy to finish the job before rounds of penalty corners were left to decide things.

“When you come out for overtime you’re all pumped, but it’s hard. Everyone’s tired after a long game like that,” Larouche said. “We really wanted it. We wanted to score and keep going.”

Travis Barrett — 621-5621

tbarrett@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TBarrettGWC

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