OAKLAND — A Lawrence field hockey team among the best in Class B North was already going to be a challenge for the Gardiner Tigers. What happened here during the game only increased that tenfold.

Late in the third quarter of Tuesday’s clash, Gardiner lost a key player as Zoey Sullivan-Brennan suffered a significant injury. During that lengthy injury break, goaltender Avery Croll, one of many Tigers battling illnesses, became too sick to continue and left the game.

None one if it, though, was enough to stop the Tigers on this night at Veterans Field at Messalonskee High School. With the score tied 1-1 when play resumed, the Tigers scored two goals to nab a 3-1 victory in which Brynnlea Chaisson (hat trick) set the program’s single-season scoring record by notching her 24th goal on the year.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Gardiner head coach Jess Merrill. “With our sicknesses, we had so many girls that just haven’t had the varsity experience where we’ve had to say, ‘Alright, it’s your turn; time to step up,’ and they did. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but they just battled.”

A scoreless first quarter saw little in the way of opportunities with Gardiner (10-2) sending the only real chance just wide. With 7:03 remaining in the second, though, Jia Kao found space in the middle of the circle off a penalty corner and found the cage to give Lawrence a 1-0 advantage.

“Lawrence looked very good, especially early,” Merrill said. “I definitely think they outplayed us in the first half; they just got corner after corner, and that’s been our Achilles heel this year because we give up a lot of them. We just had to stay focused and be resilient.”

Resilient Gardiner was, and after Lawrence (8-3-1) earned the bulk of corners in the first half, it was the Tigers’ turn to do so in the second. With 8:30 remaining in the third quarter, Chaisson made one of those corners count as she poked the ball over the line by a matter of inches to tie the game.

Then, with 2:26 remaining in the third, Sullivan-Brennan was hit in the head with a ball and had to leave the game. Just as the game appeared set to resume, Croll had to be helped off the field twice, extending the delay.

“I think when you have a setback like that, it’s important that you play a mental game,” said Gardiner senior captain Gabi Sousa. “You really need to stick to it and use the skills that the rest of the team has to fill the spots.”

Gardiner did exactly that as it continued to pressure the Lawrence goal, and with 5:57 left to play, Chaisson was awarded a penalty stroke and converted to put the Tigers up 2-1. She then scored her record-breaker off a penalty corner as time expired.

“We’ve been practicing (penalty strokes), so I was like, ‘OK, just pick a side, and I’ll get it in there,’” Chaisson said. “When our two players got hurt and had to leave, we really had to push through and do it for them and not just ourselves.”

The win solidified Gardiner’s chances of a home regional quarterfinal game with just two games to play in the regular season. The third-place Tigers are in a fierce battle with fourth-place Cony and fifth-place Nokomis for a top-four spot, and a win over an eight-win Lawrence team gave them some added breathing room.

What meant the most, though, was the way it happened. As the Tigers showed in a jubilant postgame celebration at midfield, this one, given what they had endured late Tuesday night, felt like more than just a win.

“I really don’t think there’s a word to describe it,” Sousa said. “It’s so amazing. Just with the effort you’ve put into the game, to come out with a win, I don’t think there’s a word to describe how great it feels.”