Bishop Brady’s senior forward, Olivia Lazear, scored the game-winning goal early in the second quarter from a precise pass by senior right winger Kimble Rose as the No. 6 Giants (10-4-1) eliminated the No. 11 Kearsarge Cougars (5-10-0) in the preliminary round of the Division III field hockey playoffs on Thursday at Brady’s home field.

“It felt very exciting. All I knew was that I had to get that point up on the board,” said Lazear.

“I was yelling at her, honestly. We talk a lot about communication, and that was just one of the times that it happened to click,” added Rose. “It was a great communication. We just both read each other's minds a little.”

Bishop Brady beat the Cougars earlier in the season in a comfortable, 3-1, win at home as part of an eight-game unbeaten run to end the season.

This time, the Giants won again, 1-0, and junior goalkeeper Ava Archambault kept them in the lead with four saves. After scoring the goal early, Bishop Brady won the battle in the midfield to maintain possession, although Kearsarge pushed hard for the equalizer.

“We made some adjustments second half, and I think that really showed we put some people in different places and switched up where we wanted people, and that made a huge difference,” said Kearsarge head coach Chelsea Williams. “I'm regretful that I didn't make those adjustments sooner. “

Kearsarge played well when it had the ball near the opposing circle but was unable to generate penalty corners and only had five shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Luna Landers kept her team in the game and had 10 saves and kept her focus during the Giants’ eight corners.

“Our goalie and our defense just worked really hard to make sure that we kept it at a one-nothing game,” said Williams. “That one goal too is a little bit frustrating, because we lost our position for one play.”

Both Bishop Brady and Kearsarge exited the playoffs in their first round last season — in the quarterfinals and preliminary round respectively —  and one was bound to go home early in the postseason again.

Luckily for the Giants, Lazear’s goal was just enough to push them over the edge to beat the Cougars and they will move on to play at No. 3 Mascenic, who finished the season 12-2, on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Bishop Brady’s head coach, Kelly Owen, believes her team did not play to the best of their ability despite the win, and thinks it will take a little more to win against a tough Mascenic team.

“It's not middle school, it's varsity field hockey,” said Owen. “We were a little flat and the playoffs are so different. It doesn't matter when we played them, a couple of weeks ago. This is just a different atmosphere. It's a different mindset.”

The season has come to an end for Kearsarge, but Coach Williams is optimistic for next year.

“Next year, with a little bit more maturity on the field. I think more confidence, especially from our freshmen, I think they felt they weren't sure that they earned their spot out there,” she said. “Feeling more confident, I think, is going to benefit us. I think we have a chance to have a very successful season next year.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com