After 110 minutes against her team’s most bitter rival ended in a 1-1 tie and a combined nine shots in the penalty kick session left the teams tied again at 1-1, Isabel Stehli stepped up to take Portland’s final kick.

No pressure, right?

“You have to block everything out and focus on what you have to do,” Stehli said. “Just put the ball in the net.”

And that’s what she did. Stehli sent a low shot to the corner and Portland keeper Taylor Crosby stopped two penalty kicks to lift ninth-seeded Portland to a 2-1 victory over No. 8 Deering in a hard-fought Western Class A girls’ soccer prelim Friday night at Deering’s Memorial Field.

“Every minute they worked for every ball,” Portland Coach Arthur Mosen said. “And that’s what got us there.”

The Bulldogs (9-6) move on to a regional quarterfinal at top-ranked Windham (13-0-1) on Wednesday. Windham beat Portland 2-0 on October 18, though the Bulldogs were one of just two teams to hold the high-powered Eagles to two goals.

“(Windham) is an amazing team and their scoring is insane,” Stehli said. “We’re just going to give it our all and see what happens.”

That approach certainly worked for Portland on Friday.

“We knew we had to come out fast or we wouldn’t stand a chance,” said Portland forward Kate Johnson. “We did that and it paid off.”

Midfielder Madison Bolduc capped that fast start with a goal off a scramble in the 10th minute to go ahead 1-0.

“It felt pretty good,” Bolduc said. “Like, the best feeling ever.”

Deering Coach Kevin Olson said, “Give credit where credit’s due. Portland came out fast and earned that goal.”

The Rams (8-6-1) came to life after the goal but couldn’t get in behind center backs Oriana Smith and Rachel Glover.

“If there’s an MVP tonight, it’s Rachel Glover,” Mosen said. “She missed a few games with a knee injury but she returned tonight with a bang.”

Deering suffered a hard blow in the 53rd minute when a Portland defender took down forward Meaghan Wells outside the 18-yard box. Wells, who recently returned from a broken right collarbone sustained in the season opener, left the field with her right arm in a sling.

The Bulldogs nearly went up 2-0 in the 54th, when Stehli unleashed a hard shot from distance. Deering keeper Emily Mooney (13 saves) knocked the shot toward the back post, but Bolduc was there and just missed the ball.

Deering finally got a boost in the 70th minute, when Ewka Varney drove in a penalty kick.

“You can’t let that deflate you,” Glover said. “You have to keep going. We knew as long as we stuck together things would work out.”

The Rams controlled the first 15-minute session but were unable to break through. Late in the second OT, both teams had chances. With five minutes to go, Mooney charged off her line to smother a long pass before Bolduc could reach it. Three minutes later, Crosby plucked Simone Lauture’s hard, shoulder-height shot from 15 yards.

Then it was on to penalty kicks.

“I just tried to clear my mind and not let everyone get in my head,” Crosby said. “I guess it worked.”

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