DIXFIELD — Spruce Mountain clinched a 3-2 victory over Dirigo when Ava Davis scored during a scramble in front of the goal during overtime of a Mountain Valley Conference field hockey showdown Wednesday.

“There was a lot going on, there were a lot of people, so it was hard to tell (what was going on) but it went in,” Davis said.

Miley Fournier earned an assist on the game-winning goal, which was scored six minutes into the extra period. She said she tried to hit the ball into the goal, but it deflected off her stick to Davis.

“It honestly just kind of happened,” Fournier said. “I don’t know, we were all just clumped together and just trying to get it in, and it just happened.”

The Spruce Mountain duo said a next-goal-wins overtime situation is a “lot of pressure” and “very stressful,” but the Phoenix (4-1) were expecting a tough, gritty matchup with the Cougars (3-1).

“We knew that it was going to be a tough game. It’s exciting,” Spruce Mountain coach Racheal Mastine said. “We are super glad that it was a competitive game. It always feels good to get the win. They played hard.”

Mastine said that Davis, a junior, has not played field hockey for two years, but she didn’t lose her athleticism or ability to attack during her time away. And Fournier, a senior captain, contributes in a number of ways.

“(Davis is) phenomenal on the front line, and she’s got great stick work,” Mastine said. “Miley is one of the fittest players I’ve ever coached, she has great stick work, she sees the field well. She’s a true leader out there.”

Dirigo got on the scoreboard first through a goal from Lana Waite off a corner, the team’s first of 11 in the game. Cougars coach Gretchen Curtis called Waite a “beast,” and said the junior will play anywhere she is put on the field.

“We 110% got out-hustled the entire first quarter,” Mastine said of the Phoenix. “That was my main thing to the team, you cannot get out-hustled and win a field hockey game, so they needed to pick it up. They worked really hard for all three double sessions and the beginning of the season in order to get in great shape, so the fact that they were getting out-hustled and it being pointed out to them was frustrating to them.”

In the second quarter, Spruce fired back with a goal from Aisla Armandi, who shot the ball through traffic near the goal line and into the left corner of the net.

The Phoenix went up 2-1 on a goal by Alaina Kachnovich with 2:58 left until halftime.

“Alaina and Aisla, both freshmen, coming into a big game and contributing. That’s huge for them,” Mastine said. “Most teams would never know they were freshmen.”

Mastine added that most of the Phoenix’s frontline are freshmen, but they hard a hard-working group of young players.

Dirigo tied the game 2-2 in the fourth quarter when Zoey Bordeau scored on another corner, with 3:52 remaining in the game.

Spruce Mountain goalie Mallory Clark blocks a shot during Wednesday’s game against Dirigo in Dixfield. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Dirigo held Spruce to only five shots on goal in the contest. Curtis said the Cougars need to be better at avoiding feet calls, but she praised the defense, specifically goalkeeper Keira Reny.

“Our goalie is a first-year player, she’s a junior,” Curtis said. “She’s never stepped foot on the field hockey field ever, it’s awesome, (but) she’s having a rough time, because she’s an athlete, so she doesn’t like it when the ball goes in.”

Spruce Mountain goalie Mallory Clark had 12 saves on 14 shots. Fournier recorded two assists for the Phoenix, while Dirigo’s Emily Woods had one.