Mallory Nelson weaving her way downfield through a myriad of defenders.

Charlotte Crosby hunkered down near the far post waiting patiently for the eventual cross.

Carly Raymond swooping down the right sidelines, floating on cleats of air.

And, the ubiquitous Caitlin LaFountain ably patrolling the midfield, flicking on-target shots almost at will.

The visuals were there, the Eagles’ talents quite evident, and the sum of everything Tuesday was a 3-0 field hockey win over rival Brunswick.

How good were the 10-4 Eagles on this day?

Territorially, they owned the expansive Topsham field and didn’t allow a shot on goal until a goalmouth scrum, initiated by Brunswick’s Caroline Rivard and Grace Rabinowitz, late in the game.

Crosby scored her fourth and fifth goals and LaFountain added her team-leading 11th score as the Eagles produced their best regular-season record since the 10-4 team in 1980. The Eagles are seeded fourth in Eastern Maine Class A and should host No. 5 Lewiston (9-5), next Wednesday in quarterfinal action.

“Going into the season I didn’t think we’d be as strong as we are,” said the senior Crosby. “Going 10-4 is amazing, especially when you go back to last season when we tied so many games (five).

“We really wanted it (homefield for a playoff game) because we love our field,” added Crosby. “I think it’s one of the longest in the division and we have really awesome fans, Plus, we’re conditioned enough to run on our field and that’s why we wanted a home playoff game.”

First-half lead

Crosby scored two goals just 2:04 apart, both on assists from Carly Raymond to give the Eagles a 2-0 cushion at intermission.

On a play started by Nelson, Raymond shot the ball into circle from the right side and a waiting Crosby angled the ball past goaltender Sydney Escoe (seven saves) with 4:10 left.

Raymond set up Crosby again, with the latter barreling through several defenders to push the ball in the net with 2:06 left as Mt. Ararat capped off an 8-0 first-half shots advantage.

LaFountain also missed wide right after a Raymond penalty corner and heads-up play by Micaela Mitchell to keep the ball alive.

“Honestly, with all the ties we had last year I thought we’d probably go about .500,” said Mt. Ararat coach Kelly LaFountain. “But, I figured we had most everybody back who did most of the scoring.

“As the season went on I could see that we were right with everybody. (Eastern) teams three through 14 were right there, so I figured we had just as good a chance as anyone. This year we were actually finding the net, something we didn’t do last year.”

The hard work the Eagles have put in offensively paid off in spades on this cloudy afternoon.

Time and time again, the Eagles tested the Dragons’ defense, led by Taylor Godbout,

Olivia LeRoy, Sammie Clark, Alexis Schneiderat and Escoe, with perfectly-timed redirects.

“I think it’s an advantage to be able to do that,” allowed Crosby. “We’ve been working a lot on finishing this year.”

“And that was what we were lacking last year and it’s what we’ve been focusing on this year, trying to finish,” added Kelly LaFountain. “We knew we’d have the opportunities, but (before) we just didn’t make good on them.”

In the second half, Mt. Ararat continued to control play, although Brunswick’s Rivard and Rabinowitz were able to snipe here and there.

Another Raymond penalty corner (the Eagles led 7-2) shot out of the circle and pushed back in by Kate Groh, with LaFountain blasting the right side of the cage with 23:24 left in the game.

Mt. Ararat 3, Brunswick 0

Eastern Maine Class a field hockeuy
Brunswick00—0
Mt.Ararat21—3
Goals — (MA) Crosby (2), LaFountain.
Assists — (MA) Raymond (2), Groh.
Saves — (B) Escoe (7), Pare (1).
Penalty corners — Mt. Ararat 7-2.
Records — Brunswick 2-9-3; Mt. Ararat
10-4.
Up next for Brunswick — Regular season is finished.
Up next for Mt. Ararat — Awaiting final
Eastern Maine Class A standings and
postseason berth.