WINDHAM — Thornton Academy dominated possession in a field hockey game against Windham on Wednesday. But at halftime, the score was tied at 0-0. Three second-half goals later, the Trojans were victorious, as they shut out the Eagles 3-0 at Hodgdon Field.

The Trojans were awarded the first of their 14 penalty corners 2:30 into the game. But as they did on all four corners in the first half, the Trojans couldn’t convert the advantage into a goal.

Libby Pomerleau had Thornton’s first shot five minutes in, but her shot from the right end line was kicked away by Windham goalie Tyra Boucher.

The Eagles called a timeout less than a minute later, as they struggled to hold onto possession of the ball. Not much changed after the timeout, however, as the Trojans continued to dominate. Thornton did a good job suffocating the Eagles in their own end, rarely allowing the ball to cross midfield.

But as much as the ball stayed in Thornton’s offensive end, it also stayed out of the goal. The Trojans got the ball in front of the Windham goal in the final minute, but a 15-second flurry of slaps at the ball failed to result in a goal, and the teams went into halftime with a scoreless draw.

“We weren’t satisfied with 0-0 at the half,” said Thornton head coach Lori Smith.

The word that was stressed the most in the Thornton huddle at intermission was “intensity.”

“We just needed more intensity, and we needed to pass more, talk more and just come out hungry,” said senior captain Kaitlin Hilton.

The term was taken to heart, as the Trojans amped up their intensity in the second half. On their fourth penalty corner of the half, just 3:30 in, the Trojans converted. Morgan Dube sent a short pass to Pomerleau to the left of the goal. Pomerleau then sent a pass in to Hilton in the middle of the shooting circle, who in turn directed the ball toward the net. Dube was there waiting by the left post, and re-directed the ball past Boucher for the game’s first goal.

“It’s really nice knowing that someone is going to be there. It’s not going to work if no one is there, and (Morgan) is always there,” said Hilton.

The Trojans had two penalty corners in the span of less than a minute 13 minutes in, but despite solid chances on both plays, were held scoreless yet again.

Smith called a timeout with 6:58 to go, just before the Trojans took a free hit to the right of the goal. Less than a minute after play resumed, Thornton was awarded a penalty stroke. Senior captain Lauren Russell came off the bench and converted the stroke, as she ripped a shot past Boucher.

The Trojans put the nail in the coffin with 2:34 left, as Alicyn Romprey sent a shot from the right-center of the circle into the back of the goal.

While the Thornton offense awoke in the second half, the defense made sure the Eagles stayed dormant all game long, as goalie Gabrielle Capozzi didn’t face any shots in the shutout.

“My defense is pretty strong,” said Smith. “We have some of our most skilled players back there.”

The Trojans (7-3) have four games remaining, including the next three against teams just below them in the Heal Point standings, before closing out their regular season at home against winless McAuley.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323.