PARIS — Maybe this is what you get when you strengthen the time-tested, optimistic field hockey maxim that every penalty corner is a goal with a little sports psychology.

As Hannah Warren stood at the end line and watched Thursday night’s raindrops glisten underneath the artificial lights at Gouin Athletic Complex, she had a vision.

“I don’t know what happened or how to explain it,” Warren said. “I just saw it in my mind and knew that it was going in.”

Ashley West raised her eyebrows and laughed.

“That’s kind of a funny way to put it,” West said.

Yes, but everything is funny and makes perfect sense when you win. West’s one-timer courtesy of Warren’s perfect pass off the corner early in the second half stood up for Oxford Hills in a 1-0 KVAC win over Mt. Ararat.

Warren’s inkling wasn’t clairvoyance as much as confidence.

“We work well together,” said West, a junior. “We’ve been practicing those (corners) since my freshman year.”

“We have good chemistry,” agreed Warren.

It took the Vikings only two minutes, 14 seconds to reap the benefits both of that togetherness and a halftime chat about picking the offensive pace.

Oxford Hills (3-2) put only two shots on Eagles goalkeeper Raven Demasi in the first half.

“That was good to score off a corner. We’ve kind of been struggling on corners,” said Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard. “It was important just to get that one and know that even if they got one we’d go to overtime, especially not knowing what the weather conditions were going to do.”

Getting the lead also prompted the Vikings’ defense to push the tempo, rather than nurse the lead, despite the wet turf and cold skin.

Although the Eagles (3-3) earned one corner and several free hits just outside the Oxford Hills zone in the final 10 minutes of the game, they never fired an official shot at Rachel Brennan after intermission.

Brennan made seven saves in the first half. Mt. Ararat unleashed four of those rapid fire after a free hit with six minutes remaining.

“We were trying to slow down No. 22 (Amber Bowley),” Warren said. “I think we did a good job.”

Warren, Kellie Wilcox, Jessica Gauthier, West, Mikeckney Ward and Marisa Hanning each took a turn breaking up at least one Mt. Ararat possession deep in Oxford Hills territory in the closing minutes.

“We worked together to pick up the intensity,” said Hanning.

The game continued a trend: Every Oxford Hills game, win or lose, has been a shutout this season.

Only Skowhegan and Edward Little have beaten the Vikings, who jumped to No. 4 in the Eastern Class A Heal Point standings with the victory.

“You can kind of see where EL beat us, (Mt. Ararat) beat EL, and now we beat them, that’s it that kind of year,” Goddard said. “I think after Skowhegan, Messalonskee and Cony, with the rest of us it’s a matter of who shows up to play hard.”

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