WATERVILLE — Mt. Blue recorded its fifth consecutive field hockey shutout Thursday night, registering a 6-0 win over Edward Little on Bernatchez Field at Thomas College.

Using a combination of speed, quickness and quality defending, Mt. Blue (7-3-1) rolled over Edward Little (7-4-0), which came into the game ranked above the Cougars in the Class A North Heal point standings.

“Mt. Blue was really quick on turf,” Edward Little coach Greg Perkins said. “We thought we might have something going after the way we played in our last game (a 3-2 loss to Skowhegan), but Mt. Blue was definitely a very good team.”

Mt. Blue took control from the opening faceoff, scoring three minutes into the first half. Abby Wallace knocked home a pass from Samantha Ellis (three assist) following a tenacious scramble in front of the Red Eddies cage.

Constant pressure from the Cougars forced a penalty corner at 20:30. Ellis made a smooth pass to the top of the circle, where Rebbeca Harmon drove a hard shot through the Red Eddies defense for a 2-0 lead.

Defensively, the Cougars’ lineup of Emilee Eustis, Jordyn Lawrence, Kayleigh Fontaine and Gracie Foss, pinned the Red Eddies in their defensive end of the field while helping the attack build a 13-1 shot advantage in the first half.

“We are here to play,” Mt. Blue coach Jody Harmon said. “We’ve been working on our game, hard all season, and this is what we’ve been working towards.”

Leah St. Laurent went solo to give Mt. Blue a 3-0 lead at 14:56, slapping home a shot from the right side, as the Cougars continued to assert offensive pressure.

Late in the first half, Edward Little put together a series of passes that sent Marisa Carter in on goal. Mt. Blue keeper Erika McArthur moved out to meet Carter, eight yards from the cage, smothering her shot to preserve the shutout bid.

“Our whole defense has been extremely solid,” Harmon said. “Erika has been outstanding when we needed her.”

Mt. Blue added a fourth goal with 1:12 left in the first half when Adelle Foss tipped in a pass from Hannah Minns to give the Cougars a comfortable halftime margin.

Although Mt. Blue finished the game with six goals, Red Eddie goalkeeper Karli Stubbs was outstanding in net, racking up 25 saves to thwart the ongoing attack of the Cougars.

“Karli has had a really good year,” Perkins said. “She has worked hard and plays an aggressive game.”

Mt. Blue pushed across two more goals in the second half with Wallace and Ellis combining on a nice cross field pass at 29:06. Minns wrapped up the scoring, featuring a powerful drive from the top of the circle at 4:57.