AUBURN — The Edward Little field hockey team came out triumphant against Hampden Academy on Saturday afternoon, winning 1-0 on the Eddies’ home turf.

Red Eddies (3-2) senior Kassidy Lobb had the sole goal, scoring at 1 minute, 30 seconds into the game off an assist from junior Mackenzie Joler.

“Kassidy’s always on the post, she’s always in the right spot,” Joler said. “So, I just knew if I passed the ball right up, she would have got there. She’s always there, it was perfect.”

Lobb said she saw the ball come her way, looked up to the net and saw the perfect opportunity to shoot past Broncos (2-2) goalie Mabel Hawkes.

Edward Little coach Kim Joler — Mackenzie’s mother — said she felt the team was connecting well on the field within the game’s first two minutes, but missed several scoring opportunities after that one goal.

“We had way more chances, I think we were pretty offensive for the majority of the game, but we just kind of missed some opportunities there,” coach Joler said.

Going into Saturday’s matchup, Kim Joler said she was hopeful the Red Eddies would score more than one goal, but she knew Hampden Academy would be a tough competitor on the field.

“I do think that a lot of teams will underestimate (Edward Little), and they work really, really hard all year long,” she said. “So, they’re not quite ready to be forgotten about, they’re ready to play.”

Hampden Academy coach Edythe Dyer said this year’s team is the youngest she has coached, with seven freshmen, five sophomores, two juniors and two seniors.

“We’re very young, but they work really hard, and I couldn’t be more proud,” Dyer said.  “We have a lot of skill, a lot of talent and we get better every day.”

Three of Hampden’s four games have ended in a 1-0 score, with the Broncos defeating Oxford Hills 1-0, and Lewiston and Edward Little winning 1-0. Dyer said that’s to be expected of a young team.

“It shows the grit and the tenacity that they have for being such a young team, where we fight it out every game,” Dyer said. “We’ve had a couple of overtimes as well, so we’ll get there.”

Broncos sophomore defender Emma Ward was heavy on defense, knocking several balls out of the Eddies’ offensive end, back downfield to her teammates.

“Emma does the things that she does really well,” Dyer said. “She has an incredible tackle and she stays really low. She’s very athletic.”

On Edward Little’s defensive end, Lobb said the offense and defense were both good at getting back at crucial moments, including the final minute, when Hampden Academy was stopped on consecutive corners.

Kim Joler said that Mackenzie Joler was good moving the ball up and down the field, and offensive midfielder Alana Egge worked hard up and down the field. She said the Red Eddies’ experienced forward line did well moving the ball, and the defensive line was strong at preserving the shutout and moving the ball out of the circle on its end.

Offensively, Hampden Academy had nine shots on goal, while Edward Little had seven. The Broncos took 11 penalty corners, and the Red Eddies had seven. In goal, Hawkes had four saves for the Broncos and Sophia Gerry logged nine for Edward Little.

Edward Little’s next visits Lewiston (2-0-1) on Monday; Hampden Academy will face Mt. Ararat (4-1) on Thursday in Topsham.