LITCHFIELD — Oak Hill sophomore Zoe Buteau was still winded when she went back into game after a brief respite in the second overtime period against Winthrop on Wednesday.

But she had enough left in her proverbial tank for a strong individual effort that produced a goal and a 2-1 victory for the Raiders in a showdown of Mountain Valley Conference field hockey powers.

Oak Hill's Zoe Buteau, center back to camera, is hugged by teammate Hayden Spencer after scoring the game-winning goal in a 2-1 double overtime victory over Winthrop at the Carrie Ricker School in Litchfield. Kiera Young is at right. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Winthrop field hockey players can only look on as Oak Hill celebrates a 2-1 double overtime victory Wednesday in Litchfield. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Oak Hill's Zoe Buteau, center, shoots and scores the game-winner between Winthrop defender Megan Chamberland, left, and goalie Corinna Coulton on Wednesday. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Oak Hill improved to 11-1 while Winthrop dropped to 9-2-1 with another meeting looming in the MVC championship game Oct. 14. Winthrop’s Sarah Spahr and Oak Hill’s Abby Asselin each scored first-half goals.

Oak Hill coach Betsy Gilbert played the eight-minute 7-on-7 overtime periods like an ice hockey coach, shuffling players on and off the field every 45 seconds or so. It eventually paid off as Buteau scored with 26 seconds left in the period.

“That is key, keeping fresh legs,” Gilbert said. “Back in the past I made that mistake, trying to keep the same girls in there 7-on-7. I learned from that years ago.”

The Raiders had a tough time beating Winthrop goalie Corinna Coulton, who finished with eight saves. But she had little chance on Buteau’s shot as she dribbled to the left of the goal, turned and fired a hard shot into the far right corner.

“I just turned around, got it and it went in,” Buteau said. “I was so happy, it blew my mind.”

The Ramblers were down a couple of players due to illness, which caused coach Jess Merrill to alter her formation.

“We changed from our normal formation to more of a defensive-minded formation,” Merrill said. “It was a little different for them but they’re used to playing it.”

The Ramblers dominated most of the two overtime periods. After not putting a shot on Raiders goalie Mackenzie Thibeault in the second half, they had three good chances in overtime along with six penalty corners. Thibeault (five saves) made the stop of the game when she picked off Moriah Hajduk’s point-blank blast in the first overtime.

In the second overtime, Winthrop’s Emily Molino had a breakaway with just Oak Hill senior Lexi Fuller standing between her and Thibeault. Fuller remained patient and stymied the attempt as Molino broke into the penalty circle.

“I knew I had to channel her wide so she didn’t have both sides of the cage to shoot,” Fuller said. “I knew I had to channel her to my strong stick side so I could get my stick in there to jab (the ball) out.”

The Ramblers, who lost to Oak Hill 3-0 earlier in the season, scored with just over three minutes left in the opening half following their first penalty corner of the game. Spahr knocked in a rebound but the lead was short-lived. The Raiders picked up their first penalty corner in the closing seconds and made the most of it as Asselin scored off a cross from Mercedes Pease with six seconds left.

“This game means a lot to us,” Fuller said. “We pulled through today. Everybody gave 100 percent no matter what. We dug deep. We’ve always struggled with working hard to the end. This year we really proved we can (finish).”

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