By Liz Torres, Globe Correspondent

In the end, an injury provided Arlington Catholic with the inspiration it needed.

The Cougars (19-3-1) dedicated their 3-2 shootout win over Woburn Tuesday night in the Division 1 state quarterfinal to Allyson Cunningham, who hit the boards hard late in overtime and had to be taken out on a stretcher with an undisclosed injury.

With 50 seconds left in overtime of a 2-2 tie, Cunningham went into the boards during a Woburn power play. She was taken off and hospitalized for precautionary reasons.

During a timeout, the Cougars dedicated the game to Allyson, with the players writing her number 12 on their hands as a reminder.

After missing their first two attempts in the shootout, Cougars senior forward Allie Stone snapped in a shot, while Woburn was unable to get one past sophomore goaltender Megan Messuri.

“[Allie] really came through. It was her last year, that’s the ultimate ultimatum … you score, we continue, if not, your career is over,” said coach Maggie Taverna.

“Coming into the shootout, I had to give [Megan] major props for getting scored on twice [in regulation] and making sure she made every next save. She loves to compete and hates being scored on,” said Taverna.

The win came after freshman forward Adrieana Rossini’s equalizer pushed the game into overtime. Senior forward Natalie Flynn scored first for the Cougars with a backhander in the first period.

Freshman forward Hannah Sullivan and junior forward Kayla Smith scored for Woburn (16-4-2).

The victory advances the Arlington Catholic to state semifinal action against Acton-Boxboro or Braintree.