WORCESTER – It took a couple of overtime periods, but Oliver Ames is back on top for the third straight season.

Senior captain Jackson Mercieri delivered the lone goal as he hit home the game-winner in the 102nd minute during the second overtime period to lift No. 3 Oliver Ames over No. 4 Hingham in the Div. 2 state boys soccer final at Worcester State University on Saturday.

“All joking aside, I’d like to thank the Lord for keeping (our kids) safe and healthy all year because we were very thin at times,” said Oliver Ames coach John Barata. “So, I do thank God that we were healthy and that he was able to help navigate this season, which was a very long season.”

With Hingham (19-3-1) turning its offensive pressure up during the end of regulation and the overtime periods, Oliver Ames (18-2-2) used a timeout to collect itself after a near game-ender by Hingham’s Aadam Healey.

After that timeout, the Tigers pushed the ball up field and Mercieri was able to finish it off before heading towards the Oliver Ames fans to celebrate.

“I just said, ‘Let’s finish this damn thing. Let’s stick to the game plan to get the ball to Jackson,’ ” Barata said about what he told his team during the timeout. “We’ve been here. (Hingham) is nervous as hell. You can tell because they settled with four guys back the whole game. So, they kind of helped us. … We didn’t want to go to PKs.”

Over the first 80 minutes, there were only two shots on net before each team traded shots on goal in the second overtime period.

“It’s the winning culture,” said Mercieri about being part of a three-peat. “It’s what we strive for. We keep ourselves to such high standards that we want to have nothing less. We want nothing less than to win every single game we play. We just believe in the bottom of our hearts. We just believe. It’s just the culture we have and it’s in the blood of OA.”