GORHAM, Maine – University of Southern Maine senior midfielder Julia Pearl broke the eighth and final tie 1:33 into sudden death overtime to lift the No. 4 Huskies to a 19-18 victory over No. 5 Eastern Connecticut State University in the first round of the Little East Conference playoffs Tuesday

Eastern (4-12) led only once in regulation and trailed  by four midway through the second half before scoring the final four goals of regulation --  three by freshman midfielder Maggie Bodington (Stratford) and one by sophomore midfielder Paige Schneider (East Lyme) – to force overtime.

Schneider's fifth goal of the match and Eastern's fifth straight 30 seconds into the first six-minute overtime gave the Warriors their second lead before junior attack Shauna Robert forced sudden death overtime with a tying goal with just 74 seconds left in the first overtime period.

Southern Maine (7-11), which advances to Thursday's semifinals, won the draw to start sudden death OT but Eastern senior defender Olivia Mullen (Bethel) caused a turnover and picked up the loose ball. The Warriors successfully cleared the ball with a chance for the win but gave it back to the hosts. Following a clear, Pearl potted her second goal of the match 1:33 into the sudden death frame with a free-position strike.

The 67 minute, 33 second match was the second-longest in Eastern program history, following a 15-14, four-overtime (71 minutes, three seconds) regular-season victory over Keene State College in 2011.

Bodington and Schneider each had five goals for Eastern, senior attack Meg Eremita (South Windsor) contributing two goals and four assists. Sophomore goalie Taylor Emmerson (Colchester)  stopped ten shots.

Eastern held a 21-17 advantage in draws, with sophomore defender Devyne Doran (South Kingstown, RI) winning nine draws and sophomore attack Bianca Jacques (Berlin) five. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Regan (Niantic), Mullen and Schneider each picked up six ground balls, Bodington five and Doran four.

Eastern played the Huskies on even terms this time after dropping a 14-6 regular-season decision to USM at Gorham ten days ago.

A former four-time LEC playoff champion, Eastern was eliminated in the first round for the second straight season. Eastern ended the season with a 1-8 record on its opponent's field.