With 1:06 remaining in the second overtime period and a round of penalty shots looming, Maine senior forward Kasey Spencer became the lone person to find the backboard on Kehoe Field Sunday.

After both teams endured an exhausting battle, including two seven-on-seven sudden death overtime periods, under a scoreboard that read 0-0 for 98 minutes of play, Spencer dodged around the final line of Georgetown defenders to knock the ball past freshman goalkeeper Deirdre Crovo and into the net to end double overtime – and the game – 1-0 in Maine’s favor.

“We cranked up the level higher than we had all year,” Georgetown Head Coach Laurie Carroll said. “I’m thrilled. I’m so proud of my team.”

Spencer’s goal gave the Black Bears (12-5) their third-straight shutout. The Hoyas, meanwhile, continued their five-game slide, dropping their record to 3-11.

It was the fourth overtime game of the season for both Maine and Georgetown, with Maine faring slightly better in those matches. While the Black Bears are 2-2, the Hoyas have managed just one win in the four games.

The first half saw a Georgetown wall in the defensive end, blocking Maine’s offensive attack. The Hoyas held the Black Bears to seven shots and only three corner opportunities.

“Georgetown’s defense was very good. They had great double-teams all over the field,” Maine Assistant Coach Andrea Thebarge said. “They had some great counterattacks.”

Maine’s defense was just as strong, quickly responding and rejecting Georgetown’s breaks up the field, and the Hoyas got off only one shot in first half.

The second half saw the same defensive persistence around Georgetown’s goal as the Hoyas held the Black Bears to seven shots again and four corners.

Carroll said her defense was strong and disciplined all day. “They played with a lot of pride,” she said.

The game, on the other hand, just got dirtier in the second half. Maine sophomore midfielder Amy Zdrojesky received a yellow card 10 minutes into the half, and 12 minutes later Head Coach Terry Kix was ejected from the game by a referee.

On Georgetown’s side, freshman midfielder and starter Katie Lachman was removed from the game with a disjointed finger.

Nearing the end of regulation, the game looked like it would come to a close as both teams had a distinct opportunity to score as time ran out in the second half.

Maine’s attack up the field resulted in a solo shot on an open goal, but junior defender Megan Cellucci made the save, giving the Hoyas one last break up the field. The cross near the goal went wide, however, and Georgetown failed to find the net with 20 seconds remaining.

The Black Bears had failed to capitalize on the 14 shots and seven corners in regulation, while the Hoyas only managed three shots and no corners. The lack of production sent the two teams into their first sudden-death period scoreless.

Though the game stretched on, neither team was finished playing. Senior captain and defender Caitlin Bump said that as the team was headed to the field, they saw the phrase “relentless” on the football team’s locker-room doors, and it became the Hoya field hockey team’s motto for the day. “We said keep it up; don’t let up,” Bump said.

And Georgetown did not let up as the first overtime saw them take more shots, four, than they had in the entirety of regulation. Georgetown also garnered its first corner of the game, though none of the opportunities proved successful.

Maine also stepped up the effort, posting six shots in the first 15 minutes of overtime, nearly matching the seven shots taken in each of the two halves of regulation.

“We were working together, and that’s what really brought us to the top and kept us fighting,” Bump said of Georgetown’s overtime effort.

Both teams battled through to a second overtime period, and Georgetown even withstood four corners in two minutes in double overtime to push the game to the final two minutes of play. After 100 minutes, the game would have gone to penalty shots, but the defense could not stop Spencer’s goal, and Maine walked away with the win with just over one minute remaining.

“I’m extremely proud with the way we fought, and plan on building on this for the next few games,” Carroll said.

Georgetown will get its next chance at a win Wednesday when they make up a game versus the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Hoyas will face the Retrievers at 3:30 p.m. on Kehoe Field.