LISBON — Maybe it was the neon-pink glow of the ball, part of the sports world’s ongoing push for breast cancer awareness.

Perhaps it was the weekend’s worth of rain that produced a muddy field surface and slowed the track at Doughty Diamond.

But probably the Lisbon High School field hockey team is just miles better than it was a month ago.

Lisbon had a much easier time seeing and stopping the ball than it experienced in the first segment of its home-and-home series with Telstar, and it made a colossal difference Monday in a 4-0 MVC victory.

This was the seventh shutout for Lisbon (9-2-1), a far cry from its 2-1 triumph in Bethel on Sept. 14.

“It went to overtime, actually,” Lisbon senior Angel Strout recalled. “I definitely think we’ve improved.”

The Greyhounds have made such gigantic gains that the Rebels (4-7) rarely enjoyed possession of the ball in the rematch.

Lisbon didn’t allow a shot on goal while peppering Telstar goalkeeper Hali Barter with two dozen.

Olivia Harrington, Arianna Kahler, Bailey Cutler and Sarah Craig each scored a goal for Lisbon, which sits third behind North Yarmouth Academy and Sacopee Valley in Western Class C.

“That’s been the thing we’ve been struggling with all year is we’re choppy stopping the ball,” Lisbon coach Julie Wescott said. “Today we stopped the ball. We stayed low. The things that sometimes come back and bite you in the butt, we were on the ball today. We were ready at all times.”

Jennifer Smith and Bailey Madore were among Lisbon’s many stars in the midfield, stopping rare Telstar forays out of the defensive zone shy of the stripe and sending the Greyhounds’ attackers back into prime scoring position.

Harrington was the first to take advantage. Barter made one of her 20 saves after a penalty corner, but senior Lindsey Whitney whacked the rebound to sophomore Harrington for a Lisbon goal in the seventh minute.

“I think this was our best game,” Whitney said. “We’ve been working hard in practice on the little things like stopping everything, and I think we showed that today.”

Telstar defenders Susan Newkirk, Hunter Verrill, Kendra Carter and Lyndsay Merrill led a lively effort to calm the commotion in front of Barter and keep the damage to a dull roar.

It stayed 1-0 until 7:12 before intermission, when Kahler tipped Harrington’s quick centering pass to the back of the cage.

The Rebels registered only one penalty corner in the half, and Jessica Campbell quickly intercepted the ball to stifle the potential scoring threat.

“Our offense was very strong, and we were able to keep it down at our end,” Campbell said. “We came out strong. We’re a young team, but we’ve bonded well.”

Cutler and Craig, both sophomores, inflated the lead early in the second half. Cutler connected with a penalty stroke. Craig converted another rebound off a corner, punctuating Lisbon’s 14-2 advantage in that category.

Perennial contender Telstar is the team in apparent rebuilding mode, but Lisbon put the younger overall team on the field Monday. Twenty of Wescott’s 26 total players in the program are either freshmen or sophomores.

“They’ve definitely upped my expectations,” Wescott said. “I feel like we have a pretty well-balanced team all over the field. They complement each other well.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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