PORTLAND — Cheverus got close to the Biddeford goal time and time again in the first half, but couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net. The second half was a different story, however, as the Stags scored four goals after halftime ”“ including 37 seconds after the break ”“ to rally and down visiting Biddeford 4-1 in an SMAA field hockey game at MacDonald Memorial Field on Monday.

“We’ve had some rough first halves in both our games,” said Cheverus freshman Hannah Abbott.

The Stags were able to possess the ball deep into Biddeford territory, but couldn’t get any good shots on Tigers goalie Marissa Heffernan.

Cheverus head coach Amy Ashley called a timeout 10 minutes in to try and get her offense going, but the Stags attack remained silent.

Multiple counterattacks got only as far as the shooting circle, as the Biddeford defense was able to hustle back and recover.

The Tigers, who also missed on some chances in the first half, finally struck with less than 10 minutes to play before halftime. Mallory Mourmouras took the ball to the top of the shooting circle, then found Charlotte White to the right of the goal, who in turn fired a hard shot past Cheverus goalie Casey Simpson to put Biddeford up 1-0.

“She’s great. She’s a really strong player,” Biddeford head coach Caitlin Albert said of White.

The Tigers had a chance to double that lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but couldn’t get the ball close enough to the goal for a quality scoring chance.

“We had our chances, but we also got away with a lot; they had their chances,” said Ashley. “I kind of felt lucky to only be down 1-0 heading into halftime.”

Ashley must have had a memorable halftime speech, because whatever she said, it worked for the Stags. Rebecca Archer scored just 37 seconds in, as she got behind the Biddeford defense on the left side before a few determined slaps at the ball led to the tying goal.

“At halftime, she was definitely not pleased with our performance,” Archer said of Ashley.

“I told them I wanted no talk and all actions,” Ashley said of her halftime speech. “Actions speak louder than words.”

The Stags, in fact, jumped into action, as they took the lead for good less than six minutes later, as Archer fed Abbott for a goal. The pair traded spots two minutes later as Archer scored again.

A goal by Hattie Train midway through the half was the nail in the coffin for the Tigers, who seemed to run out of steam.

Biddeford had just 13 players dressed for the game, and after defender Alex Chase went down with a game-ending injury six minutes in, the Tigers were left with just one emergency first-year player on the bench.

“We’ve been working so hard on condition,” said Albert. “When we play in our structured spots, and we’re in the right spots, we’re fine. We don’t have to worry about being tired.”

Biddeford’s plight was magnified by the constant cycling of players by Ashley, who had a deep bench and was trying to light a spark in her players the entire first half.

Cheverus was also the first challenge the Tigers received this season, after blowing out Bonny Eagle in the preseason before a 14-0 thrashing of McAuley in their regular-season opener.

“This is our hardest challenge so far,” said Albert. “It’s a matter of just keeping up with the momentum. We had good momentum.”

The Tigers won’t have much time to recover, as they play again on Wednesday, when they host Deering at Doran Field at 4 p.m.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.