It wouldn't have been right for the final meeting of the season between the Dexter and Chelsea high school soccer to end in regulation. Their previous two meetings had ended in draws, and Dexter has played to eight ties this year, so why would the third meeting between the rivals be any different?

Fittingly, after 80 minutes and three lead changes at the Dexter High School field, the whistle blew on a 3-3 match, only this one couldn't end knotted.

With the MHSAA Division 2 state tournament underway, the quarterfinal district match was heading to sudden-death overtime.

After Dexter dominated possession for the first 15-minute overtime and the first 13 minutes of the second - outshooting the Bulldogs 5-1 - Chelsea senior captain Kelly Fournier finished a run from midfield with a right-footed shot just outside the reach of Dexter keeper Zaryn Jennings to give Chelsea the 4-3 win.

It was Chelsea's first ever victory over Dexter in the postseason.

"Their perseverance through the whole game just shows all the commitment and all the hard work they've done all season," said Chelsea coach Kirsten Smart.

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Fournier's goal came after Cara Johnson gathered a ball at midfield and sent a long ball down the right side from just inside the Chelsea half. Fournier outraced a pair of Dexter defenders, took a touch to her right and shot home the winner, her second goal of the game.

Johnson scored the other two despite a noticeable limp after suffering an injury and having to leave the field following a heavy collision 30 minutes into the game.

"The majority of our team has had injuries the whole season and the fact that they could play through it was pretty spectacular," Smart said. "That's the reason why they won this game was their offseason training conditioning."

Overtime didn't look like much of a possibility for many different reasons throughout the game. After Johnson scored the game's first goal with just over two minutes to go in the first half, she put Chelsea (12-2-4) ahead 2-0 les than a minute into the second.

Dexter (7-3-8) wouldn't go away though, scoring three goals in an 11-minute span to take a 3-2 lead at the 58-minute mark.

"We did it earlier in the season against a quality side in Dewitt, were down two goals came back and were able to tie it up, and that was one of our numerous ties," said Dexter coach Scott Forester. "They definitely have the composure and tenacity to not put their head down and quit."

As familiar as the teams are with each other, Dexter's goals came from some unfamiliar faces with freshman Olivia Volmers scoring two and freshman Lindsey Lloyd scoring one (a left-footed strike from 30 yards out no less) and assisting another. Both were playing in their first ever varsity game.

"A lot of credit to them and what they can add to the program in years to come," said Forrester.

Chelsea midfielder Anna Rode beat a defender on the endline with 15 minutes remaining in the game and ripped a shot. Jennings made the initial save but Johnson crashed into the goal for the equalizer on the rebound.

Chelsea will play Tecumseh, who beat Adrian 1-0 on Tuesday, in the district semifinals at Chelsea High School on Thursday.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2565. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.