AUBURN – St. Dom’s netminder Kelsey Murphy spent the first half of her team’s game against Traip on Thursday watching intently from her crease.

She may as well have been sitting in a beach chair reading a magazine, or perhaps communicating with the dozens of chirping crickets in the woods nearby.

St. Dom’s used relentless offensive pressure and, when needed, tough defense to build a two-goal halftime lead and tacked on two more in the second half to earn a 4-0 win over the visiting Rangers.

“We definitely had the offense going in the first half,” St. Dom’s coach Brian Kay said. “You’ve got to have shots on goal if you’re going to score, and Kelsey, this is her first year, and she’s been amazing.”

Murphy made seven saves on the game to earn the shutout in just her third game as a goalkeeper, and all of them came in the second half. On the other end, the Saints launched the ball at a pair of Traip netminders 46 times, including 24 in the first half.

“Their goalie was really good today,” St. Dom’s forward Mary Lewis said. “She was light on her toes like she was supposed to be, and it is kind of frustrating when I get the angles I want but then the goalie’s pads are right there.”

Rangers’ starter Sophia Sullivan played the first half, but is battling an upper respiratory infection. Alyssa Lawrence spelled Sullivan in the second half for a while, until Sullivan felt well enough to put the pads back on.

“We’re lucky to have two solid goalkeepers,” Traip coach Lauren Dow said. “They’re athletic, they’re strong, and if we didn’t have them today, the score could have been a lot higher.”

Lewis found the back of the net three times Thursday, two of which came on scrambles in front after Sullivan turned back two, sometimes even three shots.

“The team was there for the rebounds,” Lewis said. “That’s how we score our goals.”

Colleen Rideout had the other goal for the Saints (2-1).

Traip (0-2) nearly cut the lead in half early in the second half when, during a period of sustained pressure, Murphy lost her glove, grabbed the ball and threw it out of harm’s way.

“I’m a catcher, ” Murphy laughed. “That was just instinct.”

Traip’s Heather Orr lined up a penalty shot from seven yards out, and tried to lift the ball over Murphy. The ball caught Murphy on the blocker, hit the crossbar and sailed out of play.