FARMINGTON – There were numerous questions surrounding the Mt. Blue field hockey team to begin the season.

Consider them answered.

The Cougars have put their best foot forward early in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference schedule. Junior Kaitlyn Bullen helped Mt. Blue continue that strong start with a pair of goals, and the Cougars’ defense was rock solid Tuesday afternoon in a 4-0 win against Hampden.

Mt. Blue (5-2) had to overcome its own admittedly slow start before picking up the pace. The Cougars’ performance on both ends of the field never allowed the Broncos to get on track.

“So much for rebuilding,” Mt. Blue coach Jeannine Paradis said. “We graduated twelve seniors off a strong team, but this current group is making a name of their own. We actually started out flat in today’s game because the kids were not aggressive enough and ended up chasing the ball.”

Bullen scored on a crossing pass that flew by Bronco goalie Mel Parker (22 saves). Kelsea Adams assisted on the play 8:09 in to the second half.

“When I saw the ball coming my way, I knew I’d better score or I’d hear about it,” Bullen said. “We worked together as a team and despite the slow start we were all confident and hopefully it carry’s over to our game (against Edward Little) Thursday.”

Paradis credited the defense, led by fullbacks Kelby Lucas, Chelsey Tyler, Lena Kendall and Tori Toothaker and center-midfielder Kristin Trask, with helping preserve the shutout. Junior keeper Amanda Hall, a converted midfielder, needed to make just one save.

Bullen scored again later and Jenny Kobischen notched a goal with 12 seconds left in the game to put the game away.

The 16 shots and nine penalty corners at halftime pointed out the Mt. Blue dominance. Still, a lone goal by Jillian Perron was the only difference. The sophomore scored on a slap shot with 1:51 remaining in the first half.

“At halftime we talked about anticipating where the ball would be going and to get after it,” Paradis said. “I was really pleased with the way things went in the second half. I could have done without the first half, but they showed exactly how they are capable of playing.”