PORTLAND — It’s easy to understand why few gave the Dirigo field hockey team much of a chance in its Western Class C quarterfinal round game at Waynflete on Tuesday afternoon.

Carrying a losing record, playing as a lower seed, on the road, where they’ve struggled mightily this fall, the Cougars didn’t have much in their favor, but what they did have was unquantifiable.

The desire to win for a fallen teammate.

Exactly a year ago, Dani Ranger lost her life in a car accident. With Ranger firmly on their minds and in their hearts, the sixth-ranked Cougars went out and put forth an inspired 60-minute performance at Fore River Fields and thanks to a strong start and a flurry at the finish, handled the third-ranked Flyers, 3-0, to improve to 6-8-1 and as a result, advance to face an even bigger challenge Saturday, when they’ll visit No. 2 North Yarmouth Academy (13-2), the two-time defending Class C state champion.

“Today was a very special day for us, since it’s the day that our teammate died,” said Ellie Wainwright, who had the game’s first goal. “We wanted to remember her. We came out and played for Dani. That was our motivation all year long. We were not going to lose this game.”

Dirigo set the tone by coming out fast and strong and taking advantage of Waynflete’s nerves in the program’s first ever home playoff game.

With 19:32 to play in the first half, the Cougars got the only goal they’d need when Wainwright scored on a rebound of a shot off the stick of Kelsey Wilson.

“A good start is crucial,” said Wainwright. “It’s not good playing catch up. I saw (the ball) go past the goalie and I just dove. I wasn’t going to not let it go in.”

The second half was a different story as the Flyers came out energized and forced the Cougars back on their heels.

Waynflete (8-5-2) earned a couple penalty corners and sent a couple of seemingly dangerous crosses into the goal area, but never seriously tested Dirigo goalie Amanda Dolloff.

What the Flyers did do was make life nerve-wracking for Cougars’ coach Gretchen Errington.

“(Waynflete) put a lot of pressure on in the second half,” Errington said. “I can only say, ‘We need to step it up’ so many times. We finally stepped it up and we got some breathing room.”

That breathing room came with 6:54 left when Emma Lueders finished a penalty corner (Dirigo had an 8-5 advantage for the game).

Just 2:07 later, Rylee L’Italien delivered the final blow, jamming home a loose ball.

“We came out a little flat in the second half,” said Wainwright. “(Waynflete) played a terrific game. We never gave up. We haven’t given up all season.”

“This was our typical play,” said Errington. “Once we get in a rut, it’s hard to pull out of it. This is actually the first game we were able to pull out of it. We played well today.”

Dirigo faces another stern test Saturday (1 p.m.) at an NYA squad it last faced in the 2009 quarterfinals (10-0 setback), but based on Tuesday’s effort (and the lingering impact of Ranger’s legacy), the Cougars will go to Yarmouth confident.

“We look forward to Saturday,” Wainwright said. “We’ll bring it. We’re not going to back down. We’ll play the best we can. Win or lose, we’ll put our hearts in it.”

“We’ll be the underdogs again,” said Errington. “We’ll be ready.”