BIDDEFORD — University of New England saved its best for last on Wednesday as the Nor’easters had their best offensive output in what was potentially their final game of the season. UNE set a season-high with five goals ”“ after going scoreless over its past three games ”“ in a 5-0 shutout of visiting Emmanuel College in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III New England women’s soccer championship quarterfinal at Barbara J. Hazard Field.

The victory came 11 days after UNE thought its season might have had ended with a 1-0 loss to Gordon in a Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament quarterfinal on the same field. But with an 11-4-2 record on the season, the Nor’easters earned an invite to the ECAC tournament, giving them a chance to extend their season.

“Any postseason opportunity is a good one and when we got the call for ECACs we were really excited to have another shot to extend our season,” said UNE head coach Heather Davis.

The Nor’easters, seeded second in the eight-team tournament, didn’t take their second chance at life for granted, and they didn’t take long to prove it. A chip from the left wing by Taylor Littlefield found Jackie Dickerson in the penalty box less than six minutes in and Dickerson was able to slip a shot past Saints goalie Victoria Laroche to put UNE on top early.

“It was fabulous,” Davis said of the early strike. “(Jackie) is one of our best attacking players. We expect big things from her and she answered today.”

The seventh-seeded Saints tried their best to counter after the early deficit but were stymied by a UNE back line that didn’t budge. Davis said her defenders are asked to carry quite a burden behind a midfield that is constantly on the attack, but that back line quelled any Emmanuel counters and kept the Saints from earning a single corner kick in the game.

After the Saints showed some offensive life, and gave Laroche and their back line a chance to breathe, the Nor’easters struck again. And again it was Dickerson, who out-ran a defender to a through ball into the box and blasted a shot past Laroche and inside the left post.

Margaret Palmer made it 3-0 with just over five minutes left in the first half as she collected a deflection off Dickerson in the box and beat a reeling Laroche.

UNE outshot Emmanuel 13-5 in the first half and didn’t let up as the second half got underway.

The Nor’easters pushed their lead to 4-0 just over five minutes into the second half as Becca Murphy won a contested ball in the box off a cross from Edie Pallozzi before slipping a shot inside the left post.

Senior captain Kaitlyn Hall rounded out the scoring midway through the half off of a pass from Tori Field.

The Nor’easters scored at least four goals in a game for the sixth time this season, including in each of the two games before the three-game scoreless streak to end their CCC season. Davis said that her offense getting jump-started again was more about timing than execution.

“I think that soccer is one of those fickle games, where sometimes it’s feast or famine. In the previous three games, we created as many chances as we did today, and we just really struggled to find the back of the net,” said Davis.

The Nor’easters will continue their ECAC tournament run on Friday, when they host third-seeded Westfield State University in a semifinal at Barbara J. Hazard Field. The Owls, from Westfield, Massachusetts, moved to 13-5-2 on their season after downing sixth-seeded Wentworth ”“ a CCC rival of UNE ”“ in the quarterfinals.

“I’m happy with the way we’re playing. It’s a really tough field and we’ll have to play great soccer to continue to advance,” said Davis. “So we’ll have to see how it plays out, but I’m excited about the way we’re playing and our chances to move forward.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.