AUGUSTA — If Class A North field hockey playoffs are the Messalonskee and Skowhegan Invitational, according to custom, Cony can’t do worse than being best-of-the-rest.

The Rams continued their relative stroll through the remainder of the KVAC on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman Kami Lambert delivered the first two goals in an opening-half onslaught that made No. 3 Cony 4-0 quarterfinal winners over No. 6 Oxford Hills.

Cony (11-4) won by shutout for the ninth time this season and backed up a 6-2 victory over Oxford Hills in the lone regular-season meeting Sept. 17.

Next up in Saturday’s semifinals: No. 2 Skowhegan, which hasn’t lost a regional tournament game since 2000, ousted Hampden 10-0 in the quarters and clobbered Cony 9-1 earlier this autumn. The Rams also lost twice to Messalonskee and split with No. 4 Mt. Blue.

“We are the only team that can say we are the underdogs,” Lambert said. “Skowhegan is a really good team, but they are definitely beatable as long as we have our heads in the game.”

Oxford Hills (6-7-2) lurked within a goal until Cony connected three times in a span of 5:01 late in the first half to put it away.

Haley Ward set up a goal by Lindsay Watts, then scored one of her own 25 seconds later for the 4-0 lead.

“We never felt comfortable,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said. “We said we’ve got to be at four to really be comfortable, but they played like they knew that they could still be in it.”

Led defensively by Anna Huff’s 10 saves and the valiant work of Erin Morton and Sydney Jackson fighting off penalty corners, the Vikings persisted.

Bailey Wood and Morton each had a breakaway chance late in the scoreless second half. Cony goalkeeper Jackie Carlton kicked away Wood’s try. Olivia Varney raced back to disrupt the Morton bid.

“They tend to have a lot of people on the ball. If you can’t move the ball fast enough to get away from that trap, it’s hard,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “The challenge at halftime was to change the pace of the game a little bit. Cony dominated the game. They made nice passes. They were finding the open person and finishing with some power.”

Lambert put Cony on the board with 16:37 remaining in the half. Huff crashed to the turf and stymied the initial shot, but Lambert chased down the carom and completed the transaction.

The only freshman on Cony’s roster struck courtesy of another rebound with 5:47 to go.

“We just started to pick it up,” Lambert said. “We know we had to push ourselves. We had to act like this was our last game, because in the end it could have been.”

Huff fought off nine penalty corners in the half, but the Rams responded with a pair of long-range connections to produce the insurmountable advantage.

Cony went 0-for-19 on its corner opportunities. Delaney Keithley provided exceptional defense against Morton and Jackson on the Vikings’ few chances in reply.

“In a game like this, we did have the ball in our offensive end a lot, so missing some of those opportunities was not as detrimental but definitely would prove to be on Saturday,” Daigle said.

What the Rams lacked in efficiency on set plays, they delivered in scramble mode.

“They were really effective inside the circle,” Goddard said. “They were amazing off the goalie’s pads and finishing.”

Oxford Hills produced all three of its shots on goal in the final 8:30.

Jackson, Brooklyn Smith and Alexis Caron are the Oxford Hills seniors.

“We have a lot of juniors. They’re a great group of hardworking kids, so that’s really what makes it fun,” Goddard said. “It’s nice to be in the playoffs. Being sixth, I think our goal for next year will be a little higher.”

koakes@sunjournal.com