CLAREMONT — The goal the Mascoma High field hockey team could sense was coming arrived later than the Royals would have liked, but in the playoffs, all’s well that ends well.

Junior Hailey Miller led a late fourth-quarter rush, and senior Carmen Zani put home the game-tying goal with less than three minutes to play. Sophomore Ann Buffington’s winner in the second overtime gave No. 9 seed Mascoma a 2-1 victory over No. 8 seed Stevens at Monadnock Park in the first round of the NHIAA Division III postseason on Tuesday.

“The first 15 minutes were rough. We started a little slow,” first-year Royals coach Danielle Pushee said. “Hailey Miller came up huge for us, coming up from defense.

“This team can play with anybody. We just have to be able to complete the game, and thank God overtime went in our favor this time.”

Although the two teams met Oct. 5 in West Canaan, with Mascoma (8-6-1) winning 2-0, both sides seemed to be feeling the other out early in this one. After a first quarter in which each team had one opportunity on the penalty corner, the Cardinals (8-7-0) took the lead midway through the second when Taylor Bell’s shot was deflected into the cage.

The Royals would get three more corners before halftime, the last of which left the Stevens coaching staff unhappy with the call, but the Cardinals’ defense stood tall and preserved the lead.

“We played better than we had the last game against them,” Stevens coach Patty Deschaine said. “We came out wanting to get a goal in the first half. Both teams were digging deep.”

Mascoma was clearly feeling the urgency as the fourth quarter arrived, generating one scoring chance after another before finally breaking through. The Cardinals were the better offensive side during the first seven-on-seven overtime period. But a key save by junior goalkeeper Gabby Pierce kept the Royals alive, setting the stage for Buffington’s goal in the second minute of the second extra session.

Buffington struggled to control the ball at first, with the wet, muddy grass causing issues, but she fired a shot past Stevens sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Wheeler to send her team to the quarterfinals.

Pierce made six saves for Mascoma, while Wheeler made five for the Cardinals.

“We’ve had a lot of overtimes this season, so we know how to do it,” Buffington said.

“My team played amazing. We managed to pull it off.”

Stevens, which reached the semifinals last year, will lose seniors Sara Faro, Richelle Girard and Ashley Michaud. But the biggest change will be behind the Cardinals’ bench. Deschaine, after 20 years as head coach, announced after the game that she will be stepping down.

The Royals will be at top-seeded Gilford in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles sport a 14-0-0 record, but Mascoma pushed them to overtime on Sept. 16 before losing, 3-2.

“We know what to expect from Gilford,” Pushee said. “It’s not going to be easy, but this game wasn’t easy. The Gilford coach was very complimentary of how our girls played, so I look forward to playing them and hope we come out on the winning end.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

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