Winthrop field hockey players Maddie Perkins, left, and Carolin Corgan run along the fence in front of fans after winning the Class C state championship Saturday Cony High’s Fuller Field in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — Things rarely, if ever, got tough for the Winthrop field hockey team this season. But in the Class C final, the Ramblers showed they knew what to do when a gut punch came their way.

Maddie Perkins scored the game-winner with just over a minute left, and not even two minutes after the Ramblers lost the lead, and Winthrop defeated MCI 3-2 in a wild championship game. The victory brought the Ramblers their fourth title in program history and second in three postseasons.

Perkins finished with two goals and an assist and Madeline Wagner also scored for Winthrop, which finished a perfect 18-0-0.

“I feel amazing,” Perkins said. “As soon as they got that goal, I had to tell our team ‘We have three minutes, and if they give us that three minutes, this game is ours.’ And they gave it to us.”

Trinity Leavitt scored twice for MCI, which finished 15-2-0.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, we knew they were a very good team,” Huskies coach Nancy Hughes said. “We had some opportunities in the circle that we didn’t finish on. … (And) I’d like to have that last three minutes back and defend it better.”

Winthrop spent the season bulldozing opponents, taking a 110-5 goals advantage, according to Maine Principals’ Association records into the game, but the Ramblers had to deal with a deflating turn of events when Leavitt scored on a brilliant feed from Gracie Moore to tie the game at 2 with three minutes to play.

Winthrop senior halfback Maddie Perkins (11) and junior forward Bella Littler (15) celebrate after Perkins scored the game-winning goal against MCI in the Class C field hockey state championship Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

If the Ramblers were reeling, it didn’t show. Winthrop went on the attack, and with 1:14 to play got their sixth corner of the game. The insert went to Perkins, who passed it along the top of the circle and got the ball right back for a try on goal. Her shot got right inside the right post, putting Winthrop ahead with 1:06 to play.

“Maddie Perkins comes through,” Winthrop coach Sharon Coulton said.

Winthrop calls the play “Zipper.” With the game on the line, it was the right call.

“It’s our favorite corner,” Perkins said. “We score a lot on it. It’s just a couple of passes back and forth on the top to get the defense moving, get them away from the shot. I saw that I was open, so I pushed it to the post and it went in.”

The Winthrop Ramblers pose with the trophy after beating MCI 3-2 for the Class C field hockey state championship Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Winthrop hasn’t faced much in the way of adversity, but the Ramblers were ready when some came along.

“We did talk about anything being possible in a game like this,” Coulton said. “I am constantly impressed by these girls. They have continued to grow throughout the season.”

The game had action from the start. Just over one minute into the contest, MCI went on the attack, with Hannah Robinson trying a shot from the back right side of the circle. The shot was deflected by Winthrop but the ball went right to Leavitt, who was alone less than 10 yards in front of the cage and who quickly fired on goal for a score and a 1-0 Huskies lead with 13:44 left in the first quarter.

Winthrop began to get its own chances toward the end of the second quarter. The Ramblers got their first corner with just over two minutes to go in the quarter, and Julia Letourneau inserted to Perkins, who passed to Wagner and then got a pass back for a shot from the back left side of the circle. Her shot was knocked down but the ball went back to her, and she scored on the rebound to tie the game at 1 with 1:50 left in the half.

The corner success was just starting for Winthrop. On the Ramblers’ third corner, Perkins got a rebound, passed down from the left side, and Wagner knocked the shot home in a crowd for a 2-1 lead with 7:29 left in the third.

The Ramblers went 3-for-6 on corners. MCI went 0-for-6.

Winthrop senior halfback Maddie Perkins (11) shoots past MCI’s Gracie Moore to score the game-winning goal in the Class C field hockey state championship Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We have practiced corners a lot,” Coulton said. “We’ve developed different ones all the way through the season. … We feel like we have a lot of good options.”

MCI missed a golden chance to tie the game when it got four straight corners early in the fourth and came away empty-handed, but the experienced Huskies still showed their poise when Moore brought the ball down the right side and sent a perfect pass over to Leavitt, who was on the left doorstep with her stick down with three minutes exactly to go.

A couple of minutes later, though, it was Winthrop that was celebrating.

“I’m just really happy,” Wagner said. “We played well as a team, and we did what we knew we could do.”