AUBURN – Mary Lewis knew she had just enough energy left.

With the clock winding down and fatigue overwhelming her, the St. Dom’s junior forward was running out of time and strength. When a quick transition sprung her for her second breakaway in overtime, Lewis knew it was her chance.

“I was exhausted, and I knew if I didn’t get it now, I was going to have to get off the field,” said Lewis. “My body was physically dead. When Katie (Landry) hit it to Hilary (Gove), and Hilary just drove it up and nobody was there, I knew it was my chance to go.”

Landry outraced any defenders and had just charging goaltender Haley Bright to beat. The North Yarmouth Academy goalie had already thwarted one Lewis breakaway bid. This time, Lewis edged the ball by her and finished it off into an open net. The goal with just 23 seconds left lifted the Saints to a thrilling 2-1 overtime win in a battle of unbeatens.

“I just got it barely past her, and that was just enough to get it into the goal,” said Lewis. “You just do anything you can to get it straight. I almost missed because it hit the post, but I’ve been practicing a lot on my angles. I hit it at the perfect angle.”

It was tough loss for the Panthers (5-1), which dominated early and had a 1-0 lead on a Lucy Gerrity goal late in the first half.

“We knew when we arrived at the game that this was going to happen because in our league, these are the two most competitive teams,” said NYA coach Julia Littlefield. “We knew we had to stick to our gameplan. We had a couple of girls that were sick, but they worked really hard.”

The Saints (4-0) were coming off a long weekend. After a hard-fought win over Freeport Saturday, St. Dom’s had a Homecoming dance and the Saints participated in the Bob Boucher Memorial 5K Sunday. They still had enough gas in the tank to rally from behind and win in the final seconds.

“Now they know what it feels like to be down,” said Saints coach Brian Kay. “They came back. They never let up, which is good. With all the activities going on this weekend, that was huge.”

Though NYA started strong, it could only produce Gerrity’s redirection with 5:00 left in the half. The Saints picked up the intensity throughout the first half and tied it with 25:11 left in regulation. Off a penalty corner, Landry finished off passes by Lewis and Amanda Mayette.

“Scoring that goal is huge,” said Kay. “That’s when the momentum shifts on the field.”

Both teams had opportunities to break the tie. St. Dom’s goalie Austyn Carolin kicked out bids by Gerrity and Carolin Kessler. She also made a last-second save on Nicole Fuller. The Saints had Annie Butts and Eliza Dox at the left post but couldn’t redirect a Landry shot. Colleen Rideout also had a try at a redirection of a Landry hit.

“It came right down to the wire,” said Kay. “They had chances, and we had chances.”

In the overtime, with teams play seven players aside, the Saints got critical plays on defense. Julia Richardson broke up an NYA three-on-one rush, and Butts cleared out a rebound after a Gerrity shot, just moments before Lewis’ game-winning breakaway.

Bright had broken up a Lewis bid with 4:30 left in overtime when she charged out and knocked down the breakaway attempt. Though Bright got a piece of the ball, it wasn’t enough to stop Lewis.

“We know what its like to be behind, and we also know what it is like to come back and push ourselves,” said Lewis.