WATERBORO – It’s difficult to score if you can’t even get near the other team’s cage.

That’s a lesson that the South Portland field hockey team (0-3) learned all too well over their first two games, as they were outscored collectively 6-1. And it was once again reinforced against Massabesic on Sept. 10, as the Mustangs easily managed the tempo while occupying the Red Riots’ end of the field. Trips into Massabesic territory were rare and short-lived, as the Mustangs (3-0) were able to pad a 2-0 halftime lead with two more goals by sophomore Jackie Guillemette early in the second, cruising to the 4-0 victory.

“They love to score,” said Massabesic Head Coach Michele Martin-Moore. “I mean, they really do have a nose for the ball. It’s been a few years since I really had that – last year most of these kids were freshmen, and they had it then. As soon as we see a ball in there, most of the time they are on it.”

The Mustangs wasted no time in getting on the board, striking just 1:30 into the game on a shot by Sam Emmons. Massabesic continued to threaten, but several clutch saves by South Portland goalie Lani Edwards kept things tight until 3:23 remained in the half. At that point, Massabesic’s Taylor Bergeron was able to corral a rebound off Edwards’ pad and backhand a shot into the net to make it 2-0.

“I credit the middle of the field,” Martin-Moore said when asked how the Mustangs were able to keep the ball down on South Portland’s end. “Our two lengths and our mids controlled that end of the field, so, I mean, if you control the middle of the field, you control the play. Although I will say that our front line is not afraid to tackle back.”

According to South Portland Head Coach Leslie Perreault, the Riots were also lacking a big piece of their offense.

“We weren’t communicating, that was the biggest thing,” Perreault said. “We are missing a key player today – Maraka Soule, she was sick – and we couldn’t overcome that. She’s the voice, she’s our energy, and we couldn’t overcome that today.”

The Mustangs got back to work immediately in the second half, and just 1:28 into the action Guillemette went down on one knee to poke a loose rebound through the legs of Edwards to make it 3-0.

“It’s just always chaos in the circle, and you never really know if it’s going to go in or not,” Guillemette said. “You just have to make sure that you’re pushing it in. I tried to go low. I like lifting it, too, but it’s usually whatever gets it in. You never (really know what a goalie is vulnerable to) – you have to really play with them for a long time to understand that.”

But Guillemette appeared to be onto something, because 4:02 later, she went low again on another shot from the left side to extend the lead to 4-0. The Riots did make a few trips down to the Mustangs’ end of the field in the closing minutes, but put just one shot on goal overall against keeper Courtney Picone.

Massabesic will next face last year’s Class A runner-up Cheverus on Sept. 14, while South Portland will look to finally get things turned around when they host Marshwood on Sept. 12. The Hawks are 3-1.

For her part, Guillemette is confident that Massabesic will keep plugging along.

“We’re doing pretty good,” she said. “We always have to be ready. We just have to make sure we’re spacing, and we have to make sure that we are always communicating and that we’re always watching the ball and the goalie. And maybe we lose a few down the road, but that’s how the season goes sometimes.”