AUGUSTA — Both teams knew it: The Lawrence field hockey team was going to be diligent in marking Cony’s Abby Morrill with the season on the line.

The Bulldogs did that effectively — but thanks to another Cony senior, the Rams found a way to advance to a ninth consecutive regional semifinal.

Caroline Hendrickson scored a hat trick Wednesday as Cony defeated Lawrence 3-2 in a Class B North quarterfinal, sending the Rams to Saturday’s semis against either Leavitt or Old Town back at Fuller Field.

“I knew (I might have to step up today),” Hendrickson said. “Abby’s an amazing player; if I was the other team, I would have guarded her, too. I think everyone on this team really stepped up because we knew Abby was going to get puppy-guarded. We did our jobs.”

Morrill added two assists for Cony, which overcame a dogged effort from a visiting Lawrence team that got two goals from Maddie Niles in the loss. The Bulldogs led the Rams for most of the second and third quarters before two tallies from Hendrickson late in the third gave Cony the lead for good.

The two teams produced little in the way of offense early in the first quarter with a Lawrence shot that went just wide in the opening minute marking the only real opportunity. Yet with 7:06 left in the opening quarter, a flick from Hendrickson following a penalty corner put second-ranked Cony (12-3) in front.

Five minutes later, though, Niles scored on a perfectly placed shot off a penalty corner to tie the game for No. 7 Lawrence (9-5-1). The senior captain then scored her second of the night with 8:41 left in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up 2-1, an advantage they would take into the break.

“She’s probably the most prolific scorer we’re ever going to see in my lifetime at Lawrence,” Lawrence head coach Shawna Robinson said of Niles, who ended her Bulldogs career with 109 goals. “That first goal, she just stroked that thing. … She’s going to be a tremendous player at Merrimack.”

Despite a flurry of corners in the third quarter, that lead would hold until Hendrickson lifted a shot past Lawrence goaltender Abbey Stewart to tie it with 2:45 left in the period. The game wouldn’t be tied long, though, as Hendrickson scored her third with 22 seconds left in the quarter to give Cony the lead.

“It was only one goal, and with the way we were playing, we knew we could come back from that,” said Cony head coach Holly Daigle. “I was so proud of our seniors at halftime, too, because they said, ‘We are not hanging our heads; there’s so much of this game left, and we are fighting right down to the end.’”

Lawrence had a scoring chance or two in the final quarter, but for the most part, Cony continued to boss possession rather than go on the defensive. That paid off for the Rams, who enjoyed a stress-free final minute as a penalty corner took significant time off the clock before the home team celebrated.

The game was a rematch of an early-season showdown won 2-1 by Lawrence on Sept. 12. That game, Hendrickson and Daigle agreed, seemed to light a fire under the Rams, who have now won 11 of 12 games ever since that defeat in Fairfield dropped them to 1-2 on the year.

“That game, I think they scored with like a minute, 33 seconds or something left, and we hadn’t forgotten that,” Daigle said. “That one stung a little bit, but rather than feeling intimidated by that, we were motivated by it. The girls hung onto that the whole game, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Robinson was no less proud of a Lawrence squad that played a valiant game as the No. 7 seed in a region loaded with talented teams. It’s been a long season for a Bulldogs team that’s been without a home field, and on Wednesday, it took a remarkable effort from Cony to bring an end to that season.

“We played focused and gave them a hell of a run for their money,” Robinson said. “These seniors, they left an undeniable mark on our program — they’re part of history from that first-ever state championship team two years ago. I’d be honored for them to come back and coach with me someday.”