WINDSOR — The Woodstock High field hockey team runs a 400-meter all-out sprint at the end of every practice. It’s an exercise in physical endurance, sure, but it’s also an exercise in mental fortitude, one that happens away from the field to demonstrate just how far the Wasps can push themselves, according to junior Aleks Cirovic.

So when coach Leanne Tapley called timeout with 1 minute, 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter in Tuesday’s clash against Windsor, she reminded her players why they run those sprints with the Wasps facing a 2-1 deficit.

“During those sprints, she’s always like, ‘Imagine this is the last two minutes of a game. Imagine this is overtime,’ ” sophomore Grace Perreault said after the Wasps rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory over the Yellowjackets. “And it was. So she now was like, ‘Imagine it’s the sprints.’ She really just got us to push hard and give 100%.”

Woodstock was able to rally in the waning moments of regulation, securing a game-tying tally from Perreault to send the game into overtime.

Windsor threatened early in the extra period of play, forcing the Wasps to make several goal line clearances. But it was Woodstock sophomore Alexis Audsley’s shot off a penalty corner that proved to be the decider, securing the comeback victory for Tapley’s squad.

“These girls dug deep when I thought they had nothing left,” Tapley said. “They had the endurance during overtime. That’s what it’s all about.”

The back-and-forth overtime affair between the Wasps (3-0, 3-0 SVL-B) and the host Yellowjackets (1-3, 0-1) pitted two teams angling for another run at a state title. Both teams came up 60 minutes short of hoisting a state championship trophy last season — the Wasps fell to Hartford, 2-0, in the VPA Division II title game, while Windsor lost, 2-0, to Montpelier in D-III.

Tapley and Windsor coach Blake Holden are each adjusting to the lineup gaps left by last year’s graduating seniors, too. For Tapley, it’s in the attack, where she’s had to replace seven starters. For Holden, it’s on the back line.

Given the positional adjustments across the two squads, Tapley and Holden both expressed that it’s a work in progress.

Coming off back-to-back defeats on the road at Bellows Falls and Burr & Burton, Holden said the focus has been on honing the basic skills, from man-to-man marking to winning 50-50 balls.

“It finally all came together today,” she said. “That was certainly the best game we’ve had this season.”

Windsor opened the scoring four minutes into the first quarter when Hannah Tenney bagged her first of two goals on the day.

Woodstock eventually found an equalizer late in the third quarter, courtesy of Cirovic, who took advantage of ample time and space in front of the cage.

Tenney’s second goal came with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter as she redirected a pass from Grace Blanchard into the back of the net. It appeared that Tenney’s brace would secure the Yellowjackets’ second win of the season, until Perreault’s late heroics.

As precious seconds ticked away, Woodstock’s Ryann Hughes charged into the shooting circle and guided a pass across the face of goal. Perreault had been standing at the far post on a couple of occasions earlier in the game, so when she saw the ball bouncing in her direction in the waning moments of regulation, only one thought crossed her mind.

“I need to get this in,” she said.

She did, and a group of green jerseys swarmed her in celebration following the tying score.

After repelling several Windsor attacking forays early in overtime, Woodstock drew a penalty corner with three minutes remaining. The Wasps were missing two starters, one due to sickness and one to injury, and their traditional penalty corner “was all messed up” as a result, Audsley said.

But as Woodstock set up, Audsley was told the ball was coming to her on the insert.

“I wasn’t really ready to shoot the ball,” Audsley said with a chuckle. “I was looking for Grace (Perreault) at the corner, but she didn’t touch it and it just went in.”

Pandemonium ensued after Audsley’s bouncing shot clattered into the back of the cage, securing the win for the Wasps and maintaining their unbeaten record.

For the Yellowjackets, it was yet another heartbreaking early-season loss. Holden found herself reminding her squad postgame that “it’s totally normal to be upset,” but that each loss is a building block toward the postseason.

Most importantly, her team is getting better each day, she said.

“That was probably the best Windsor field hockey I’ve seen,” Holden said. “It sucks it didn’t go our way … but we play them again in a couple weeks.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.