DUXBURY – When your team is cruising, sometimes an opposing challenge can be just the thing.

Westwood’s girls lacrosse team played one of its toughest opponents Thursday, but Charlotte DeMaio still came through in the clutch. The Quinnipiac commit (four goals, assist) sniped the go-ahead tally with 4:45 left in regulation as the Wolverines remained undefeated on the season with a 10-9 victory over Duxbury.

The Wolverines (10-0) rolled into the Dragons’ lair as one of the strongest teams in the Commonwealth. Early on, it looked like their dominant run might continue with ease as DeMaio fed a pass to Brown commit Caroline Nozzolillo, who sniped a goal 2:46 in to stake a 1-0 advantage.

However, in a trend that would continue for the game’s entirety, Duxbury (6-2) punched right back. Mackenzie Kingston and Caroline Villarin netted consecutive goals, as the Dragons jumped ahead 2-1 with 8:00 left in the opening frame.

In the second quarter with the game tied at 3, Villarin snapped a scoring drought with her second goal as Duxbury jumped ahead.

Then, DeMaio struck again. Seven seconds before the break, the senior captain completed a hat trick with a free position shot to make it 4-4.

Play picked up in the third quarter. Senior captain Cecelia Thurmond registered her first goal of the game before Nozzolillo buried her second with a free position shot. Like clockwork, it appeared the Wolverines were about to break things open up 6-4.

Not so fast. Duxbury answered the bell, as Villarin converted a hat trick 26 seconds later to make it 6-5.

At 8-all, DeMaio drew a free position shot, and flinched as her attempt ricocheted off the crossbar. However, the senior was tripped up during the sequence, and awarded a second opportunity. This time, she did not miss, sniping twine as Westwood seized a 9-8 lead late.

“I was super frantic,” said DeMaio. “But having my teammates telling me to calm down and tuck in was super motivating, because I was definitely really nervous taking that. But it felt really good to get that.”

With 2:37 left, the Wolverines forced a turnover, and began sprinting upfield in transition. Westwood coach Margot Spatola and her staff sounded like they called for a timeout. Unbeknownst to the referees, however, play carried on without a whistle. Nozzolillo slipped to the cage, and buried her second goal as Westwood made it a 10-8 contest.

“The defense, which credit to them was great and hard to break, had a gap in the middle,” said Nozzolillo. “I saw that, and was able to take it. The goalie was great, so we had to adjust, and start placing our shots better.”

Duxbury had one last gasp, as Ceci Tremante scored a goal to make it 10-9 with 54 seconds left. The Dragons gained possession seconds later, and had a final shot before the horn. But the attempt skipped over the crossbar, sealing the victory for Westwood.

“We saw this team, and we lost to them last year,” Nozzolillo said. “Margot (Spatola) prepared us well, really focusing on the pump fakes at the 12. You could see, Charlotte did well. Most of our goals were off of eight-meters. So, we adjusted to that, and prepared well.”