WESTBROOK — Beth Murphy’s preseason assessment of her Westbrook High field hockey team did not include 11 victories and a fourth seed in the final Class A South standings.

It included the belief that her Blazes could be good, but that it might take some time. After all, they were still a relatively young team with just four seniors on the roster.

Someone obviously fast-forwarded the timetable.

The Blazes, who finished 11-2-1, enter the tournament’s quarterfinal round as one of the more intriguing teams in a season that saw all of the top teams lose at least two games.

“This is probably the most even season I’ve ever seen in all of my years,” said Murphy, who is in her 25th season as the Blazes’ head coach.

Westbrook will play fifth-seeded Massabesic (10-3-1) in a quarterfinal game at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Blazes defeated the Mustangs 1-0 on Oct. 7 on a late goal by Maddison LeBeau.

And if you go back and look at the Blazes’ schedule, that’s pretty much how they won many of their games. Seven of their victories were by one goal, six by a score of 1-0. They often walked a tightrope between victory and defeat – five of those 1-0 winners were scored in either the final eight minutes or overtime – with a staunch defense in front of sophomore goalie Kimmie Goddard providing the safety net.

And they thrived in those games, learning to lean on each other.

“We’re working as a team and everything is just coming together,” said Morgan Rice, a senior co-captain and defender. “You pretty much have to relax and not think about all the pressure that’s going on and play the game that we know.”

As the season has progressed, the Blazes have learned to trust each other, a theme that was repeated by several of the players late last week.

Goddard, who has become a much more vocal goalie this fall, said her teammates pull her through the tight games.

“I tend to get into my own world,” she said. “I forget everything else and focus on my job. And I really rely on my teammates. I have great trust in each of them.”

Camryn LaPierre, the talented junior midfielder, said the Blazes know that one goal can be more than enough.

“We know we have an awesome defense and that the forwards and middle line are awesome defenders too,” she said. “And we have trust in each other that we can stop all the other teams.”

It’s hard to pinpoint a moment when this team began believing it could win. Murphy, who resigned after the 2013 season but returned when she didn’t think a suitable replacement could be found, said it was the Scarborough game, a 2-1 loss for the Blazes. The players pointed to the 1-0 victory over defending regional champ Thornton Academy on Sept. 21.

“At first it was a shock,” said LaPierre. “But I think we realized, ‘We can play with them. We can beat them.’ ”

The season ended on a high note, with 1-0 wins over No. 2 Marshwood and No. 5 Massabesic and a 3-2 overtime win over No. 8 Gorham.

“We just kept going, one game after the other,” said Rice. “I don’t know, I just feel we’re unstoppable at this point.”

There’s another reason the Blazes are confident in their abilities right now: conditioning.

First-year assistants Theresa Hendrix (the former Cheverus and St. Joseph’s College star) and Rachelle Messuri (another former St. Joseph’s standout) have added a layer of running to the team’s training that Murphy believes is paying off late in games. Other teams may be more talented, she said, but her players are holding up better.

And they see it. As senior defender Julia Symbol said, “We keep on running and they’re gassed.”

For Symbol, this season has been a pleasant surprise. “I did not think we would do this good,” she said. “It is surprising and surreal.”

Now, everyone starts over. And the chase for a championship – Westbrook has never won a regional crown – shifts into high gear.

“I know we can do it,” said Rice. “We just have to keep the faith.”

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