GARDINER — Jess Merrill told her team to just breathe.

Up 2-0 at halftime, her Gardiner field hockey team allowed perennial Class B North power Belfast to score two second half goals, sending the game to overtime.

“(I said) ‘Take a breath,'” laughed Merrill, Gardiner’s second-year head coach. “Going into overtime, I knew we had to score early, because (Belfast) has fast forwards. They’re very skilled and are amazing field hockey players. I knew if we didn’t score early, we’d be in trouble.”

The Tigers collected themselves, and thanks to a tip-in by junior Brynnlea Chaisson — off a hard pass from senior Gabi Sousa — Gardiner beat Belfast 3-2 at Hoch Field on Tuesday afternoon.

“The whole week, we had been practicing tips, having Gabi and (the midfielders) send in all the balls, and the forwards have been just tipping (the ball into the cage),” Chaisson said. “Just to practice that was really good. I know I can get my stick on the ball and that’s what we needed to win.”

“Its’ a good confidence booster,” said Merrill, who coached at Winthrop — leading the Ramblers to a 2018 Class C title — and Gray-New Gloucester before taking over at Gardiner last year. “We knew that we could play (with Belfast), so this is a good marker for what we’re looking for and where we want to be. We’re playing really good field hockey lately, so it’s good to see them put the whole 60 minutes together.”

Chaisson led the Tigers (3-0) with two goals, while junior Davyn Swindells added a goal. Sousa was credited with two assists. Senior forward Breanna Shorey scored both goals for the Lions (2-1), while junior forward Allison Friel had an assist.

In the early minutes of overtime, Sousa was alone near the sideline and sent a rocket toward the cage from the 15-yard line. Chaisson managed to get her stick on the shot, re-directing it just enough to get by Belfast goalkeeper Nikki Shorey.

“I had the mentality that I just needed to get (the ball) to the cage,” said Sousa, who will play field hockey at the University of Maine next fall. “We have girls that know how to tip and can do that. If you can get it (near the cage), that’s at least a shot opportunity and be a total game changer.”

Gardiner took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, first on a goal by Chaisson in a scrum in front of the cage. Swindells added her goal with just over three minutes left in the quarter.

But Belfast clawed back, with Breanna Shorey notching her first goal midway through the third quarter. She tied the game at 2-2 with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth, on a hard shot that hit the net of the cage.

“We just didn’t have a good start to the game,” Belfast head coach Jan Jackson said. “We were flat and decided to come out at the half and play like we should. We knew that we could put some (goals) in and tie it up. … I knew (Gardiner) would play us very tough.”

Gardiner managed to win despite trailing in shots (14-8) and penalty corners (7-2). The Lions had shut out the Tigers each of the last two seasons, 3-0 in 2022 and 6-0 last season.

“(The win) is amazing,” Sousa said. “Last year, we got shut out by (Belfast). They’ve been one of the teams that, this season, we’ve been like, we need to get it together (to beat them). But we’ve been working and practicing. We have so many talented girls this year. So many of us have been putting work into the offseason. To see it come together and to be a team that’s incredibly talented is just so great.”

“This year, our team is so much more well-knit,” Chaisson said. “We support each other so much more. It’s just a different environment, and we want to carry that through (the season).”

The Tigers have outscored opponents by a 22-2 margin in their three wins. They beat Morse 12-0 in the season opener on Sept. 5, followed by a 7-0 victory over Winslow on Saturday. It’s a step forward for a team that finished 9-6 last year under Merrill, with a trip to the B North quarterfinals.

“I had a lot of sophomores last year, and I think just that year of maturity, they really rededicated themselves into (a team-first mentality),” Merrill said. “Last year was a lot of ‘Me, me, me.’ Them putting the team first (is huge). They’re accepting the roles on their team and they’re thriving in it. … It was definitely learning curve last year, but they’ve definitely rededicated themselves. They’re just so much fun to be around.”