FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue field hockey team watched in frustration as ball after ball rumbled past the net or was kicked away by Brunswick goalie Ainsley Harrower on Wednesday afternoon.

The Cougars spent most of the game in front of the Brunswick net but could not slip one past the formidable goalie in their season opener.

Mt. Blue’s finishing touch wasn’t working until junior forward-midfielder Hannah Minns slapped the ball into the backboard with a loud thud late in the second half to provide the Cougars with a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Ellie Pelletier got the assist and Mt. Blue’s offense was off in running in the second half thanks to Minns’ ice breaker.

The Cougars scored three more goals later in the second half to beat the stubborn Brunswick Dragons, 4-0.

“I think it helped all of us to gain confidence and actually start getting it in the goal, because in the second half when we came back with two, it really gained our confidence even more,” Minns said of her goal. “We finally started to work together — and their goalie was really good — and found how to pull around the goalie and get it in.”

There is no question Mt. Blue coach Jody Harmon was relieved that her team pulled it together and won the opener.

But it all comes down to those finishing touches for the Cougars.

“It’s what we’ve been working on and what we need to still continue working on — attacking the goal and finishing it,” Harmon said. “We are doing everything else, getting it up there inside and getting shots, but we are not finishing that.

“We came out in the second half, attacking the goal like we should have and got low and had our sticks on the ground, so we were able to connect.”

Minns was just getting started after scoring the first goal of the game. 

Mt. Blue’s next two goals came from junior Samantha Ellis and Pelletier, with Minns picking up an assist on both goals.

Adelle Foss topped off Mt. Blue’s lead with her goal with 13 minutes left in the game, with the assist going to Addisyn Davis.

But the Dragons also showed signs of resilience when they finally began pressuring the Mt. Blue net in the second half, but goalie Erika McArthur held her ground and kicked the ball away in her only save of the game.

The Dragons’ sudden surge startled the Cougars for a few minutes after Brunswick’s lull in the first half. 

“I think it was just getting off the bus and getting into the game — getting a feel for it,” Brunswick coach Karen Paquin said. “When we come up to play schools like Mt. Blue or Messalonskee — that level of play — there is this intimidation factor because we haven’t been able to compete in the past, but they went out there and impressed me. They competed.”