POLAND – Sure, the entire girls’ soccer season is played in September and October.

When you have a player of Kelsie Taylor’s caliber move into your school, though, every sunny autumn afternoon feels like Dec. 25.

Taylor tallied two goals and gift-wrapped the third for Poland Regional High School teammate Jen Powell, all in the second half, to give the Knights a 3-1 Western Maine Conference victory Tuesday over previously undefeated St. Dom’s.

“She’s a first-year player to us, but actually she’s played a lot,” Poland coach Aaron Rand said of Taylor, a junior. “She transferred from Gray-New Gloucester last year. She has great individual skills. She makes runs, and when we find a way to get her the ball, good things happen.”

Poland (2-1-1) put together three unanswered goals in a 25-minute span to transform a defensive struggle into an anti-climactic finish. Taylor’s awareness and quickness set the table each time.

Libby Bernier’s corner kick created the first serious commotion in front of the cage for either side. St. Dom’s attempt to clear the loose ball caromed perilously off the crossbar, leaving Taylor in position for a nifty head-in at 10:15.

“We definitely communicated a lot more in the second half,” Taylor said. “We made a lot of little passes.”

Credit one of the deftest dishes to Taylor. Her presence at close range persuaded Saints’ goalkeeper Elise Applegate to charge out of the cage and pursue the ball. Taylor calmly threaded a pass from left to right, finding wide-open freshman Powell for a 2-0 lead with 13:09 remaining.

Taylor unleashed her shots in bunches after that. She rattled the crossbar for a near-miss before outworking a defender for a 50-50 ball and putting the game out of reach with 5:42 left.

“I think we helped them out with their goals,” said St. Dom’s coach Kathy Little. “Once they put one in the back of the net, we had to take our chances to get one back. We changed our formation, so it might have looked like we were leaving (Taylor) open because we were pushing to get a goal.”

Alex Landry helped the Saints avert the shutout, knocking a rebound past Poland keeper Sam St. Pierre.

Senior captains Taylor Girouard, Tessa Mascetta and Hilary Clark led Poland’s resistance in front of St. Pierre (10 saves).

“The defense kept their confidence up and worked the field pretty well,” Taylor said. “They got it out pretty quick with one-touches.”

Becky Trytek, Laura St. Pierre, Heidi Nadeau, Stephanie Bouchard and Erynne Landry proved their equal at fullback and in the midfield throughout the first half for the Saints (2-1-1). Applegate made 11 stops.

“We beat a big team today,” Rand said. “It’s their first loss. They’re our rivals, and the girls really get up for it. The last few times we’ve played them, it’s always been a one-goal game.”