Brunswick’s Ellie Sullivan, center, pursues the ball as Mt. Ararat teammates Libby Anderson, left, and Miraliese Rineer give chase during a Class A North field hockey quarterfinal Wednesday in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — Lydia Hiltz got a second chance to play the hero. She didn’t miss it.
Hiltz scored with 4.4 seconds left in the second overtime, lifting fourth-seeded Mt. Ararat to a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Brunswick in a Class A North field hockey quarterfinal Wednesday night.
“I’m in shock,” Hiltz said. “I can’t even believe that just happened.”
The game appeared headed to penalty corners when an offensive opportunity developed for Mt. Ararat (10-5) with 30 seconds to play in the second overtime. With time winding down, Audrey Marchildon sent the ball from the right side over to the left for Hiltz, who aimed for the right corner.
Brunswick goalie Ella Duchette, who had a series of clutch saves for the Dragons (9-5-1) in overtime, made yet another stop, but the ball kicked directly back to Hiltz. The sophomore wasted no time, firing her second shot past Duchette and into the cage.
“It went in, thank God,” Hiltz said. “When I’m in the circle, I’m hardly thinking. … (It bounces) back at me, just shoot again.”
Mt. Ararat’s Grace Keleher, right, pulls away from a group of Brunswick defenders during Wednesday’s Class A North field hockey quarterfinal game in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
In an added wrinkle, Hiltz and Duchette are cousins and close friends.
“I wish I could say I feel bad, but …” Hiltz said, her voice trailing off. “I love her, but it feels good to win.”
Duchette (eight saves) was superb with the game on the line. The sophomore stopped a trio of Mt. Ararat shots at the end of the first overtime, and made her biggest stop in the second overtime when she denied Alex Graf on a penalty stroke with 3:02 remaining.
“I was hoping that clock would tick a little faster, but I’m just so proud of my goalie, stopping that stroke. I thought that was going to turn the tide,” Brunswick Coach Carrie Sullivan said. “She’s just fearless. She works so hard for us. She’s hilarious, but fierce when the time comes.”
With Duchette making saves and the Dragons dodging defeat, Mt. Ararat Coach Krista Chase kept wondering if the Eagles had missed their chance for victory.
“Yes, about 100 times. But then we’d get another opportunity,” she said. “It’s always like this with Brunswick. … It could have gone either way, but it went ours, and that feels really good. But boy, we had to earn it.”
The start of the game gave no indication of the defensive struggle that was coming. The Eagles took a quick 1-0 lead when Graf scored off the game’s first corner with 11:48 to go in the first quarter. Brunswick pulled even when Ellie Sullivan, who “dominated the first quarter,” according to Chase, brought the ball from midfield into the circle before finding the cage with 4:52 to go.
An Eagles defense led by Belle Hemond limited Brunswick chances in the second half, but the Dragons hung close.
“We always tend to have these crazy games,” Coach Sullivan said. “I can’t imagine another way. I thought we were going to get into corners, though, that would have been fun. Four more seconds. Almost.”
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