FARMINGTON – Having just played Mt. Blue to a tie last weekend, Lawrence sought to add some speed up front in their playoff game Saturday.

After a scoreless first half, the adjustment paid huge dividends. No. 10 Lawrence scored three goals in the second half to upset No.7 Mt. Blue in the preliminary round of the Eastern Class A field hockey tournament.

Three different players scored for the Bulldogs, with Whitney Pollard scoring the game-winner.

Mt. Blue and Lawrence played to a 2-2 tie last weekend in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game.

“The difference in the second half was we were able to execute better,” Lawrence coach Lisa Larrabee said. “I had changed my lineup today and put a freshman (Danielle Armour) in on the front line because she is fast and we did have several more opportunities to score.”

Following a scoreless first half, Pollard broke the ice by poking a rebound past Mt. Blue junior goalie Amanda Hall (11 saves) three minutes and 10 seconds after intermission.

Lawrence advances to play defending state champion Skowhegan in a quarterfinal game Wednesday. Mt Blue concludes its season at 7-8-1, winning just once during the second half of the season after winning five of the first seven games.

The absence of a consistent offensive push by Johanna LaPlant, Elizabeth LeClair, Jillian Perron, Jenny Kobischen and Kaitliyn Bullen limited any chances in the circle. The Cougars appeared too passive going after loose balls.

Lawrence freshman goalie Emily Lambert had five saves to preserve the shutout.

A strategic time out by coach Jeannie Paradis with 10:55 remaining in the first half seemed to inspire the Cougars. The players picked up the intensity level and anticipated where the ball was going.

This sudden burst allowed the defense to finally catch a breather. Mt. Blue tried driving balls forward, but the Bulldogs intercepted the passes.

“We controlled the ball between the 20-yard lines,” Larrabee said. “We’ve been working on our transition game, and another big difference was on penalty corners. Last time we played we had 21 PC and didn’t score, but today we scored twice on corners.”

Armour scored on a breakaway with 11:09 and Caitlin LaPorte redirected Brandy Armour’s pass with 5:24 left in the game.