DIXFIELD — A fast start and solid all-around play were all St. Dominic Academy needed Thursday in a key Mountain Valley Conference showdown with Dirigo.

Clara Bosco scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Saints to a 2-0 shutout over the Cougars at Harlow Park.

St. Doms (12-0-1), which had shut out Mountain Valley two days earlier, has now clinched a berth in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game for the second consecutive year. The Saints, No. 1 in Western Class C, will play Georges Valley next Wednesday for the conference title.

“We knew the importance of this game,” St. Dom’s coach Kathy Little said. “It’s nice to be going back to the MVC game, but with Dirigo No.3 and us No.1 in (Heal Points), the winner of this game will likely earn the top seed for the playoffs.”

The teams battled with a great deal of intensity through two-thirds of the first half until the Saints broke the ice. Bosco scored when Dirigo goalie Natasha Deroche and Sam Morse each rushed forward to cut down the angle, but Bosco skimmed the ball into the net with 9:51 left in the first half.

“At that point, all I had to do was run hard and put the ball in the net,” Bosco said. “Dirigo was keeping their sweeper back and double-teaming us.”

“We were pumped all week for this game,” said Sophie Goulet, who assisted on the goal. “The team really was looking forward to get back to the MVC game.”

Dirigo (9-3-1) altered its formation by using two stoppers in an attempt to derail the skillful Saints. The Cougars maintained some offensive pressure and had several chances on shots by Erin Turner and center half Natalie Bolduc, but they simply couldn’t finish.

“I thought we held our own with them in the first half,” Dirigo coach Art Chamberlin said. “But they move the ball so well and there is a reason why they are undefeated. They wear you down.”

Dirigo had its best barrage in the final minute of the first half, but Saints goalie Mary Caron (7 saves) stopped the initial shot. Two more shots were redirected by defenders Emily Conner and Emily Rioux.

St. Dom’s composed itself and recognized the Cougars were keying on Goulet, so the Saints moved the ball outside and controlled the pace of play. That strategy led to the second goal, when Bosco rushed down the right side and booted a high shot across the box. Deroche (9 saves) came out, but the ball bounced between her legs and Kayla McLellan deposited the ball in to the open net with 29:18 left in the second half.

“That was a fluke goal,” Chamberlin said. “Natasha hasn’t let that happen and without that goal it would have been a 1-0 game. We switched back to three forwards to try and generate some offense.”