BETHEL — The first shot for each team told the story Thursday.

Telstar rushed downfield in the first few minutes and dinged a shot off the post. Dirigo countered and went the other way only to bury its first try of the game. It set the tone for the Cougars in a 4-0 win.

“This team does a really good job moving the ball around,” said Dirigo coach Dennis Hanson. “The other night we played Wiscasset. We changed our mentality. We were not playing to win, and tonight, we played to win the entire game.”

Telstar’s Casey Thornton hit the left crossbar on the first shot of the game just 3:10 into play. Dirigo pushed the ball the other way and got a Tyler Gates tally instead. It was his first of three in the game. Cliff Turner added another goal to go with his two assists.

“I told them that that’s the way soccer goes,” said Telstar coach Tim Remington. “Casey hits it two inches to the right, it goes in and we have momentum and we shock them. Who knows what happens from there. It comes down the other end and Gates just blew through.”

The Cougars improve to 9-0 this season and remain the top seed in Western C.

“It’s amazing,” said Gates about the Cougar’s start. “I didn’t expect it coming off the losses we had last year. We’ve had a lot of kids stepping up.”

For the Rebels (3-5-1) it was a much improved effort against Dirigo. The Cougars won the first match 6-1 easily. Though Dirigo outshot the Rebels Thursday, Telstar was able to muster a bit of a counter attack and had some quality chances, especially in the second half with five shots. Keeper Daniel Vaughn was superb with 21 saves.

“We improved and played a lot better than we have,” said Remington. “We had a lot more opportunities than the first time. We made the adjustments, and we’ve figured ourselves out defensively. We had some opportunities, and they didn’t bounce our way.”

After Thornton’s near miss, Dirigo was able to catch the Rebels up field. Gates got the ball and cruised past a few defenders for an open shot.

“We have a bunch of powerful kids on our team,” said Gates, who has 18 goals this season. “We have some size. We have a good counter attack because of it. We can get a boot or a couple passes and get downfield. I got a chip pass, and they left the middle of the field open because it was a counter. I just took advantage and went to the middle.”

With 23:40 left in the half, Dirigo converted off a Josh Turbide throw from the right side. Turner crossed the ball in front for Gates to head at the left post.

“That was a beautiful cross by Cliff,” said Gates. “I didn’t even have to move. It basically hit me right in the forehead.”

In the second half, Telstar had a chance to trim the deficit when Ethan Morin broke in but put the shot over the net. Dirigo added to the lead when Gates chipped it in from the left side with 10:23 left. Turner added the last goal with 6:37 remaining, taking a Hunter Ross pass and chipping it in off the crossbar.

“They could have gotten frustrated when we weren’t putting the ball in the net,” said Hanson. “We made the runs. Telstar did a real good job shutting our guys down defensively and took away the first or second chances.”