FAIRFIELD — Tuesday’s Eastern Class A field hockey quarterfinal at Lawrence had that score-first-and-you-probably-won’t-need-to-score-again feeling.

Penalty corners by the bundle and the telltale sound of loud cracks in the scoring circle represented Edward Little’s opportunity to take care of that business early.

The No. 6 Red Eddies never could convert, though, and Julia Lawrence’s second-chance goal with 17:03 remaining simultaneously punctured the EL balloon and steered the No. 3 Bulldogs to a 2-0 victory.

“We had three good looks at an open net in the first half that we missed on,” EL coach Greg Perkins said. “If we scored one or two of those, it could have been a different game.”

Lawrence (10-4-1) eliminated EL (8-6-1) for the second straight year and backed up a 3-1 victory on opening day of the KVAC regular-season.

Nine Bulldogs seniors were part of last year’s upset in Auburn, and all of them respected the Red Eddies’ potential to return the favor.

“We came in knowing that they were going to be coming out tough,” Lawrence senior midfielder Miranda Costigan said. “They were the opposite (seed) this year, so we had to come out with that same intensity.”

EL was ever-so-slightly quicker to the ball in the first half, but whiffs and whistles took their toll.

Seven corners prior to intermission yielded only three shots on goal. Lawrence goalkeeper Emily Lambert stymied each. Others trickled wide of the target.

“I saw a case of nerves from my kids in the first half,” Lawrence coach Lisa Larrabee said. “We’re not usually in this position, but it’s fun to say this is what must be like for Messalonskee and Skowhegan.”

Like those traditional powers, Lawrence later took full advantage of the few opportunities yielded by a stingy EL defense.

The Bulldogs cashed in on a corner to notch the game-winner. Danielle Spaulding took the initial stroke from the back line, setting up a high shot by Danielle Armour. Eddies goalie Amanda Williams knocked it down with her blocker.

Regan LaPorte retrieved the ball and deflected it to the freshman Lawrence, who put a final charge into it and found the back of the cage.

“It was a good pass, and the first shot hit off her pads and I was there,” said Lawrence, the only non-senior involved in the play. “The shot was pretty much in I thought, and then (Williams) put up her hand and it stopped it.”

Cold and flu took their autumn grip on the Bulldogs leading up to their playoff game. Julia Lawrence, usually a center forward, was playing an unfamiliar wing position.

“We were subbing more than usual and putting people at new positions, and it showed,” Larrabee said. “I think they out-hit us, but it’s depth and experience. I have nine seniors who made a difference in the second half, so I’m going to thank experience for this one.”

Armour applied the exclamation point, scoring off a rebound with 21 seconds left.

The final score wasn’t a fair reflection of EL’s early effort.

Tori Couture, Maddie Williamson and Jordan Tate all unleashed screaming shots in the first half. Gabby LaPerriere, Danielle Demers and Brittany Williams provided defensive breakups, limiting Lawrence’s number of good looks at Amanda Williams (six saves).

“Two evenly matched teams,“ Perkins said. “It was one of those games where whoever gets the 50-50 balls was going to win, and the second half they definitely were beating us to balls.”

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