WINCHESTER – Despite a rough start, a grind-it-out defensive performance from 20th-seeded Chelmsford pushed No. 13 Winchester to the brink of an upset in a Div. 1 field hockey state tournament first-round matchup on Thursday. Annika Froude’s net was nearly impenetrable for the Lions.

But with 54 seconds left in sudden-death overtime, junior Ava Paragas found a hole to propel the Red and Black (14-5) past the scare with a 2-1 win. Her move around the edge of the last defender in 7-vs-7 action gave her a wide-open lane, and she snuck the game-winning goal through the red-hot Froude’s pads.

Winchester moves on to play the winner of Friday’s No. 4 Franklin/No. 29 Beverly matchup.

“I just tried to pass it through her legs,” Paragas said. “I was nervous, but I was so happy (when it went in). … (This shows) even when it feels like it’s a really close game, we can pull through.”

While Winchester seemed to control possession throughout the whole first quarter, in some of the fourth, and in most of overtime, the Lions (5-10-3) put up a serious upset bid.

After the Red and Black’s 10-shot, five-corner opening frame produced just Julia Fredey’s goal for a 1-0 lead, Chelmsford made position changes to flip momentum and tie the game early in the third quarter. Molly Hillier (seven saves) was stellar in goal once again for Winchester, but Caroline Pitts’ top-shelf, reverse-stick scoop over her for Chelmsford put the Red and Black’s season in jeopardy with a 1-1 tie.

Almost all of Winchester’s 19 total shots on goal were high-quality, but one defensive save in the first quarter and Froude’s performance (16 saves) drew a little antsy frustration from the Red and Black’s attack. It reached a pinnacle in overtime, when Froude staved off a four-shot frenzy to keep Chelmsford alive – including one on a Paragas shot.

“Hats off to her, she had a great game,” said Winchester head coach Michelle White.

Paragas came right back at Froude two minutes later to deliver the game-winner, though, capping off a resilient effort White is hoping will give the team a boost for the next round.

“She stayed composed to finish that, so I think having her come back from the miss two minutes prior to that, and then to score, was awesome,” she said. “I think the fact that, at the very least, pushing through at the end and getting the win, hopefully, will give us some momentum to ride.”

After moving defender Jenna Nigro into the midfield in the second quarter, Chelmsford got the bolt of energy it was missing to change momentum. Winchester only managed two shots on goal in the next two quarters, paving the way for the Lions to tie it up – despite the limiting defense from Winchester’s Sam Gal, Madelyn Rabinovich, Madison von Mering and Eireann Walsh.

Dominating the way it did to eventually head into overtime was a difficult shift for Winchester. Staying together was important.

“Focusing on why we’re playing and remembering that we’re a team, that’s how we’re going to win,” Paragas said. “We just needed to keep our calm and stay hungry for what we want in the end.”