PORTLAND — The Biddeford field hockey team has already experienced some highs and lows this season, which is not even a week old. After being on both sides of a shutout in their first two games, the Tigers (2-1) found themselves in a competitive game on Monday against Deering. A game that’s outcome hung in the balance until the final minutes went in favor of the Tigers, which came away with a 3-1 victory at Memorial Stadium.

It was a back-and-forth game from the start, but the Rams (0-3) got the early close calls. Rylie Turner had a shot kicked away by Biddeford goalie Mackenzie Hevey six minutes in, and a put-back attempt by Thuy Phan went wide right. Turner had another shot knocked away by Amber Magnant just over three minutes later.

Biddeford had its first good chance 13 minutes in, as Alex Quigley sent a cross from the right side to Sophany Srey, who’s redirect was blocked, and a put-back attempt by Charlotte White was also turned away.

Deering broke the ice just past the midway point of the first half, as Kaytlin DiBiase scored on a pass from Kerry Wells off of a penalty corner.

The Rams looked to head into halftime with the lead intact and momentum on their side, but the Tigers were able to even up the score late. Srey put a shot on net from 10 yards out off of a corner, and White was able to sneak a redirect past Deering goalie Sadie Rhinehardt with 4:05 left.

“After I got the goal, it was like relieving,” said White. “It was nice to go into halftime with a 1-1 tie.”

“That was good, because it was a brand new game,” said Biddeford head coach Leslie Mourmouras. “We didn’t look so great ”“ we have lots of people playing new positions ”“ so the first half was a little rough. The second half was much, much better.”

Biddeford used that momentum to storm out of the gates in the second half, but a handful of chances were missed. White missed on a redirect of an Abbie Paquette send-in two minutes in, and Katelyn Perkins hit a shot wide two minutes later on another send-in from Paquette.

Srey had two chances of her own waiting patiently by the left post twice in a span of a minute, but missed on redirects both times.

“It was frustrating at first, but I knew that our team could get it done, and I knew that we’d have more chances to come, and that we did,” White said.

Deering gained momentum from dodging some early bullets, and put pressure on the Biddeford defense. Kristen Francouer had a shot kicked away by Hevey just over 11 minutes into the half, and Mia Thurston had a trio of shots stopped later on. The last of the three was a high shot that Hevey was able to slap down with her blocker, a save that drew high praise from Mourmouras.

“She had that one that was over her head. That would have been a game-changer. It probably would have changed the result. That was huge,” said Mourmouras. “She played big today. She’s a little girl, and she played big today.”

Biddeford began to regain dominance of possession in the final minutes of the half, and White was able to give the Tigers their first lead of the game with just under five minutes to go. Mallory Mourmouras sent a hard pass toward the net from 20 yards out, and White was able to put it past Rhinehardt from the right side.

Perkins sealed the victory with 45 seconds to go, as she found the ball at her stick off of a corner from the right side.

The Tigers next play on Thursday, when they host Gorham.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.