BRUNSWICK — Edward Little received goals from five players and relied on its midfielders to secure a 5-0 victory over Brunswick in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference field hockey season opener Wednesday.

“It’s definitely a team effort, they work very well together,” first-year Edward Little Coach Kim Joler said after her team awarded her the game ball for her first varsity win.

Becca Raby tallied the first goal about 12 minutes into the game, taking a loose ball in front of the cage and knocking it past goalie Ainsley Harrower.

Erin Coughlin had a chance to tie the game a few minutes later, but EL goalie Elise Syphers cut down the angle and made the save. The Dragons had few other scoring opportunities, as the Red Eddies defense kept Brunswick out of the circle.

“We didn’t have as many shots on goal as we should have,” Brunswick Coach Karen Paquin said. “We came out a little flat at the beginning.”

With 8:36 remaining in the first half, EL got an unassisted goal from Kiana Fournier.

EL possessed the ball for much of the first half, but the trio of Maggie Folsom, Kristen Hummer and Rosie White kept the Red Eddies from adding to their lead.

“Those girls play hard back there,” Paquin said. “They are comfortable back there with each other and do a good job for us.”

Courtney Larson and Olivia Roth each added a goal in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Roth nearly scored again at the 20-minute mark, but it was Bella Coulombe who provided the final push to send the ball into the cage for EL’s fifth goal.

Syphers stopped three late shots to preserve her shutout.

Joler lauded her team’s leadership.

“We’ve got three captains, but honestly, we could have a ton more. They feed off each other, which I think is super important,” Joler said.

“Our captains are very encouraging,” added Roth. “But what we really focus on is talking to each other, communicating a lot.”

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