AUBURN — The chances were few and far between for the Lisbon High School field hockey team in its Mountain Valley Conference opener at St. Dominic’s Academy on Wednesday.

The Saints held a 9-0 edge in first-half penalty corners, 18-2 overall in the game, and outshot the Greyhounds by the count of 10-6.

But, where it mattered most, Lisbon was dominant, winning 3-0.

“We realized that we had to step up our game, and get some momentum started for the season and keep the spark,” said Lisbon forward Chase Collier, who had one goal and two assists to spark the Greyhounds. “I wanted to set up good scoring opportunities for our team, and we were able to take advantage of our chances.”

Despite holding a big territorial advantage throughout, the Saints failed to figure out Lisbon goaltender Mikailia Harnden and the Lisbon defense, which cleared four St. Dom’s scoring chances away from the goal line in the second half.

“Other than not putting the ball into the net, we played well,” said St. Dom’s coach Brian Kay, whose Saints host Dirigo on Friday. “We played phenomenal during the preseason, with a group of mostly freshmen and sophomores. I think if we would have scored a goal, the momentum would have changed.”

“In the beginning, I didn’t think we started well, maybe nervous in the beginning,” said Lisbon assistant coach Joanne Campbell, who is in charge of the Greyhounds while head coach Julie Petrie awaits the birth of twin girls. “This is a big win for this group and a good way to start our season.”

Greyhounds strike

Lisbon scored on its best scoring chance of the opening half. Collier fired a shot from long distance, with the rebound kicking inches behind Saints goaltender Abby Slonina (three saves). Charlotte Mooney was “Johnny on the spot,” picking up the rebound and finding the back of the net for a 1-0 Greyhounds lead just 2:40 into the contest.

Undaunted, the Saints continued to press the Lisbon defense, with forwards Callie Samson, Hannah Trottier-Braun and Erin LaChance pressuring the Lisbon goal. Harnden had two first-half saves as Lisbon carried a 1-0 lead to the intermission.

Not much changed in the early going of the second half, with Samson missing wide, and Harnden stopping Trottier-Braun twice from close range.

Having faced 11 straight St. Dom’s penalty corners, Lisbon had its first chance at the set play with 22 minutes left. The Greyhounds didn’t waste it, with Collier centering a pass to Mooney for her second goal and a 2-0 Lisbon edge.

“Collier and Mooney were the difference today,” said Kay of Lisbon. “They scored the goals and that was the difference.”

The Lisbon defensive trio of Alyssa Hall, Olivia Leduc and Emily Brewer stood tall from there. Twice Leduc swatted St. Dom shots away from the goal line, and Harnden had eight more stops in her varsity debut in the second frame, giving her 10 in the contest.

“We did a good job defensively, and we really picked it up in the second half,” said Collier, who finished the scoring, chipping a pass from Hannah Berube behind Slonina with 4:59 left.

Lisbon (1-0) is slated to host Mountain Valley on Friday at 4 p.m.