Rottewell’s overtime goal capped Lawrence’s dramatic comeback in the first game of North Jersey’s third.

The state’s second-leading scorer, Lawrence’s Caroline Rotteville, scored two minutes into overtime to fend off a furious effort from Roxbury as the 6-seed Cards defeated the 11-seed Gaels 3-2 in a first-round game in North Jersey. , Group 3 Sectional Tournament in Lawrence on Tuesday.

The win advances Lawrence to Thursday’s section quarterfinals at No. 3 Chatham, a 4-0 win over 14-seeded Middletown North.

In the first overtime, with the two teams playing seven-on-seven field hockey, Rotteville deflected a long shot from Peyton Valentino that deflected off the stick of Roxbury defenders. From there, she went to work dodging defenders and sent a backhand shot past the goalkeeper to complete Lawrence’s three-goal comeback.

“It got to me on the lap,” Rotteville said of taking the long shot. “I was at the top of the circle. I got it and just kept going straight towards the goal using my backhand.

“Overtime is really interesting because it’s harder because there are fewer girls on the field, but in some ways it’s easier because I have more space. I have fewer defenders. And as soon as I get into the circle, I will have the opportunity to score a goal. Nobody is going to stop me. Of course it’s very nerve-wracking, but as soon as I get there and overtime starts, I’m ready to go.”

Lawrence coach Megan Errico expressed no surprise at Rotteveel’s clutch and play in overtime and expressed confidence that once her team’s leading scorer had room to move, she would strike the winning shot.

“I knew as soon as Peyton got the ball and it didn’t go and she touched it, I knew it was over,” Errico said. “Because they are a strong team, but we had to overcome their defense and we did. We just needed to keep possession of the ball. And we couldn’t maintain possession in the first half. That was my big halftime speech. “If you keep possession, you can win this game.” And we did it.”

Errico had to give a speech to her troops at halftime because Roxbury came off the bus smoking. The Gaels dominated possession throughout the first half, blocking Lawrence as he tried to clear the ball or go through transition.

Roxbury, meanwhile, completed a crisp, accurate pass through midfield while senior midfielder Isla Hart worked on the right sideline and made repeated shots to sophomore forward Avianna Zanni, who took it over for the attack.

As a result, Lawrence had just two shots on goal in the first half, with both shots coming late in the first period. The Roxbury defense turned them both away and got a huge defensive save from Ava Pennisi on Rottevell’s second shot.

Roxbury continued to put pressure on the Cardinal cage early in the second quarter. At the 9:00 mark, Zanni and Julia Katz fired back-to-back shots from close range on goal but were denied by a pair of saves from Lawrence goalkeeper Tess Adolph.

But soon after, Amanda Picklo finally got the ball in the cage, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead. They doubled the lead before the end of the half as Carly Contillo scored with 1:19 left in the second period off an assist from Brooke Franetovich.

Lawrence was against it, but whatever Errico said to her team during intermission seemed to have the desired effect.

The Cards came out of the game in the third period, turning things around with Roxbury hitting the visitors’ cage. After taking just two shots in the first half, Lawrence had six shots on the Gaels’ goal, two of which tied the game.

The first came when Lawrence attacked on a rebound in front of the cage. Rotteville took a shot that was blocked by Roxbury goalie Vanessa Pennella to start a flurry, and after the ball bounced to the Cards’ Kayla Darling, Darling took a shot against the cage that was again saved by Pennella. But Rotteville was on top of the rebound, firing a shot on goal to bring Lawrence within one, 2-1, with 8:39 left in the third quarter.

Just over a minute later, Pennella was again under duress, but blocked two shots to stop the threat. However, this was only a temporary reprieve as Lawrence scored a corner with one minute left in the period to tie the game at 2–2 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.

It was Valentino who delivered the decisive blow when she took the ball at the top of the circle and fired a missile that crashed into the cage untouched.

“All we do is work on rebounds,” Errico said of her team’s ability to clear the front of the cage. “Our middle centers aren’t always where they need to be, and we were saying, ‘We have to force rebounds and you have to take them and send them back. It worked for us today.”

“And then Peyton’s bomb. We have been trying to achieve this all season. Sometimes she gets nervous when a defender comes at her, but last week we changed the corner play a little. And it worked for her. Her hits are simply unreal.”

Lawrence continued to apply pressure in the final period and could have ended the game in regulation had it not been for a one-on-one defensive save from Piclo, who moved to the left of goalkeeper Pennella to deny Rottevel’s shot.

Roxbury finally broke free and headed deep into Lawrence with four minutes remaining in normal time, with Gael midfielder Brianna McGowan firing home. Lawrence goalkeeper Tess Adolph made her first save of the second half to stop the goal, but it wasn’t her last save. Both teams ended full time at a frantic pace, making repeated long runs up and down the field in an attempt to break the deadlock.

But it would be Rotteville’s job, and she would need just 2:05 of the first overtime to do it.

Although Roxbury missed out on its unsuccessful bid, Gaels coach Kate Williams felt her young team made great strides this season.

“Obviously this is not the result we wanted,” Williams said after the loss. “I think we missed opportunities: we missed one-on-one play with goalies, missed opportunities in the post. But they learn a lot from their mistakes. I see them making adjustments.

“The first half definitely went better for us. We work to stay consistent and that comes with experience. I only have four seniors with very little college experience. They worked hard all year round. Many of them play year round and they really start to socialize. More than I have seen in the last 12 years of being in the program. So I think this season is a step in the right direction, even if I have a winning record. I’m proud of them for making it this far.”

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Michael Holcomb can be reached at [email protected].