DIXFIELD – Dirigo senior tri-captain Melissa Harvey netted a hat trick, and the Cougars put forth a strong performance en route to 5-0 shutout against Monmouth at Harlow Park.

Dirigo (6-1-2) started out strong and maintained constant pressure throughout the action. The Cougars didn’t allow a shot on goal until nine minutes remained in the game.

“Our passing and talking was great today,” Dirigo tri-captain Megan Russell said. “That had been a problem for us in the last couple of games. Today, we were finishing.”

Monmouth (6-2-1) had high expectations for the matchup with Dirigo, but things never materiaized. The Mustangs were missing three starters, and the 12 players available were unable to keep pace with the fresh Cougars.

“I wasn’t looking forward to facing Dirigo this way,” Monmouth coach Steve Bodge said. “But, the school has a trip and it took away our freshmen. The girls were just tired, and our offense is geared toward going through (Jenn Lola), and she’s injured. We couldn’t get anything going.”

Dirigo opened the scoring with a nifty goal by Harvey, who booted a ball past Monmouth goalie Brittany Rac. Katie Hutchinson dribbled down the right side and crossed a pass to Harvey, who was unmarked near the left post.

Amy Gould scored on a Hutchinson pass with 5:34 remaining in the first half.

Monmouth was unable to get past Dirigo defenders Carrie Jamison, Tricia Turner and Brittany Palmer. Goalie Lynette Bryant made just two saves.

“On defense, we marked (Courtney Barrett),” Russell said. “They were trying to get her the ball. We worked together and didn’t let anyone get behind us.”

Hutchinson scored on a rush, and Harvey scored two goals in a 50-second span.

Monmouth fullbacks Brittany Hilton and Alyssa Ashlock cleared numerous shots.

The Cougars led in shots 30-5 and 10-2 in corners.