FARMINGTON – The Oxford Hills field hockey team quickly shifted into overdrive in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game Tuesday afternoon.

A score by Tia Pratt midway through the first half proved to be enough as the Vikings maintained their composure for a 2-0 win against Mt. Blue in a regular-season finale.

There was a lot at stake – Mt. Blue (9-4-1) and Oxford Hills (10-3-1) had tied in a game last month. A win most likely secured a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’ll wait and see where we end up when Heal points come out,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “Either way, we’ve had a good season (so far). In the game, we were able to break down (Mt. Blue’s) defense basically with long hits and the way we carried the ball.”

It was Pratt’s stick skills that enabled the midfielder to snake in and around the Cougar defenders. The play began on the right side, and Pratt cut left, squared-up and drilled a shot past Cougar goalie Ashley Lewis, who was rotating over.

“We really wanted to win this game,”Pratt said. “I think the difference was that we came out aggressive, and it forced Mt. Blue back on their heels.”

Mt. Blue fullbacks Meghan Robinson and Amelia Allen retreated and tried slowing the Vikings’ surge. It was the Vikes’ quick transition, from defense to offense, that pushed the ball beyond the Cougar players. This resulted in several mismatches, but Lewis (10 saves) as able to stem the tide.

The Cougars welcomed halftime, allowing them time to make adjustments. Alyson Webster was moved up to right forward and combined with Casey Kidd and Michelle Oswald to pick up the pace.

“They were beating us to the ball (in first half),” Cougar coach Jeannie Paradis said. “We were not able to get back, and you can’t afford to do that against a (fast team) like Oxford Hills. We talked about what we were capable of doing, and we did play better in the second half.”

Oxford Hills goalie Aleksys Pike (seven saves) along with fullbacks Brandi Libby and Tara Brown preserved the shutout.

The Vikings reversed the flow, and Teira Durgin blasted a reverse stick that bounced off Lewis’s pads.

“We wanted it more,” Durgin said. “This was (Mt. Blue’s) senior game, and we wanted to spoil it. Plus, we didn’t need a tie like last time under the lights.”