WESTHAMPTON — When Hampshire Regional boys soccer forward Joe Moro went down with an injury early in the second half, the No. 7 Raiders’ offense began to slip. Their 2-0 lead was cut to 2-1 with under 15 minutes left in regulation and No. 10 Rockland relentlessly pressured Hampshire goalie Colin Holt, looking for an equalizer.

Moro fought through the pain to return to the game late in the half. And as the clock ticked down under a minute and the Bulldogs still in attack mode, the ball snuck past Rockland’s back line to a surging Moro who only had the goalie to beat. He gave it a blast that left absolutely no doubt, ripping a shot into the net to make it 3-1 Hampshire with 25 seconds remaining in the MIAA Division 4 Round of 16.

Raiders senior Brendan Stevenson and junior Owen Miller immediately took off for the screaming Raiders student section, where soon Moro, Holt and the rest of the red jerseys joined for a celebration. Miller’s two first-half goals and Moro’s dagger punctuated Hampshire’s 3-1 win over Rockland to advance into the Div. 4 quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season.

“I was super excited to get the ball again, I had a couple chances all game and that one just went right for me,” Moro said of his goal.

“There’s nothing better than that,” Miller added, referring to the pig pile with the fans. “States game, packed stadium like this, it was so fun. Doesn’t get any better.”

Although it looked as if Hampshire was going to waltz through to the Elite Eight after 60 minutes of play, Rockland flipped a switch over the last 20 to give the Raiders its best shot.

A Daniel Da Silva goal brought the Bulldogs to within one, and several other golden scoring opportunities ensued. Perhaps their best came with four minutes remaining, when the ball found a Rockland player all alone at the penalty stripe with a clean window to Holt. He took a shot, but Holt was right there to deny the attempt just as he had done all night.

The senior keeper made a handful of key stops down the stretch to keep Hampshire ahead, which eventually led to the Moro goal that put the game officially out of reach.

“All the hard work pays off in those moments,” Holt said. “I was locked in and focused.”

For the second straight tournament game, Hampshire started fast – something the Raiders had a problem with during the regular season. They capitalized on almost an identical goal to one in their Round of 32 bout with Northbridge. Colin Cahill launched a throw-in from the sideline into the box and Brendan Stevenson used his head perfectly to flick it to Miller. The junior forward buried the goal from inside the 6-yard box, giving Hampshire a 1-0 lead less than halfway into the opening half.

After the Raiders were awarded a free kick with under eight minutes left in the frame, Miller stepped up to take it about 25 yards away from the net. He used a short run up and drilled it into the top left corner for his second goal of the half. Miller has scored twice in both of Hampshire’s state tournament games, and he has a free kick goal in each as well.

“I think I still got another level to go,” Miller said. “But I just feel like the team has been steadily improving, especially the last two first halves. The way we’ve started these games gives us such a good base and it allows me to get the ball and do my thing.”

As is every coach’s dream come the postseason, Raiders head coach Brad Miller admitted he thinks his team is playing its best soccer right now. All three phases – offense, defense and midfield – seem to be not only clicking on their own, but clicking together and flowing through each other.

The goal from the beginning of the season was to peak come the state tournament, and Hampshire is doing just that.

“We kinda talked about it from the start that we were hoping to find our balance and create a bit of a crescendo at the right time, and I feel like that’s starting to happen,” Brad Miller said. “We’re starting to click in the right ways at the right time. There’s a couple players that still have an untapped gear, so hopefully we can get into that because the next round is gonna be harder.”

The next round indeed is going to be tough, and Hampshire will likely face a familiar foe. The Raiders get the winner of Saturday afternoon’s Round of 16 contest between No. 2 Lynnfield and No. 15 Gardner. If Lynnfield emerges victorious, it sets up a Final Four rematch from last season. Hampshire fell to Lynnfield 2-1 in the semifinals before the Pioneers went on to win the state title.

The Raiders are already thinking about revenge, and in order to get back to a third straight Final Four, they’re probably going to have to get it.

“They would certainly welcome the opportunity,” Brad Miller said when asked if his team is prepared for another battle with Lynnfield. “We would love to have a home-field advantage too, though, and if Gardner were to win then they would come to us. But I’ve already heard them talking about redemption, so we’re looking forward to it either way. We’re fired up right now.”