LEWISTON — Even with a three-goal lead and with a defense that had been playing rock solid, Edward Little field hockey coach Greg Perkins wasn’t happy at halftime.

“Coach kind of put it into our brains (at halftime) that we needed to play better,” EL forward Tori Couture said. “Our forwards definitely moved the ball better.”

The Red Eddies responded well to their coach, thwarting any notion of a Lewiston comeback with a five-spot in the second half to cap a dominating 8-0 victory over the previously-unbeaten Blue Devils in a KVAC showdown on Saturday afternoon.

“We didn’t want them to get confidence early. You want to do it quick,” Perkins said. “They’re a young team, and we start eight seniors, so that certainly didn’t hurt us, either.”

“We always come into our rivalry game against Lewiston, no matter how good or bad either team is, we want to win,” Couture said. “We always come in fired up.”

Lewiston began the season with a win and a pair of ties, its longest unbeaten stretch to start a season in recent memory. The Devils are young, but showed a rejuvenated sense of passion to begin the year.

“This definitely showed our new team what to expect in our league for the rest of the year,” Lewiston coach Bre Allard said. “It’s definitely surprising to lose 8-0, and I hope the girls will learn from this and move on.”

EL, meanwhile, has been on a roller-coaster ride to begin the season. Now with two wins and a loss, Perkins believes the Eddies are starting to figure out how they need to play to remain successful in a tough conference.

“We kind of played like we did in the first half today against Lawrence (the team’s lone loss) all game,” Perkins said. “We just have to find a way to be more consistent.”

Despite allowing a goal only 1:56 into the contest, the Blue Devils appeared to have a step equal to that of the Eddies early. The teams traded in-zone activity early in the match, with both Ravon Palmer of Lewiston and Amanda Williams of EL keeping the ball from crossing the line in their respective cages.

EL broke through 10 minutes later with a second goal, though, and added a third in the waning minutes of the first half to seize control of the contest.

“It’s manageable to be down only three at the half. You feel like there’s hope that you can come back,” Allard said.

Perkins rallied his troops at halftime.

“I was not happy at halftime, but they did what I asked them to do at the half,” Perkins said.

The Eddies found a rhythm as the second half wore on. The back-breakers for the Devils were a pair of goals 2:01 apart at the midway point of the second half. Now faced with a 5-0 deficit, Allard went to backup keeper Sarah Breton for a short spell. Breton stopped all seven shots she faced before Allard reinserted Palmer.

Couture netted her second of the half at the eight-minute mark of the half, Maddie Williamson added a goal 55 seconds later, and Hannah Johnston tipped one past Palmer with 56 seconds remaining to cap the EL victory.