KENNEBUNK — After scoring just five goals combined in its first four games, Kennebunk accomplished that total in one half on Monday against Gray-New Gloucester. That tally came in the second half, after the Rams found the net three times in the final 10 minutes of the first half in an 8-1 rout of the Patriots in a WMC field hockey game.

Kennebunk (2-3) proved its dominance over the winless Patriots (0-5) early, as the Rams owned possession and were able to pepper the GNG shooting circle with shots and scoring opportunities.

But after 20 minutes of play, Kennebunk had nothing to show for all its effort, something head coach Kayla Billings said has been a problem so far this season. She told her team as much when the Patriots called a timeout 9:21 in.

“It basically was: ”˜We are working this hard. We have been consistently working this hard. We absolutely need to finish,’” Billings said about what she pleaded to her team during that timeout.

Eleven minutes later, Olivia Sandford showed Billings that she and her teammates got the message, as Sandford broke the ice with the game’s first goal.

“Coach is always telling us we need to keep shooting, and that’s what we did: We just kept shooting and one went it,” said Sandford. “It felt good. It gives you motivation when it hits the back (of the goal). It makes you want to keep playing even harder.”

The Rams scored twice more before halftime, as Lindsey Gregoire and Jackie Murphy each found the back of the goal.

“I think that’s what we needed,” Billings said of Sandford’s goal, which was followed quickly by the two others. “We do well with momentum, when it happens.”

The Rams didn’t just sit on that lead, as they kept up their intensity on offense in the second half, much to the pleasure of Billings. Allie Gregoire scored off of a penalty corner just 2:24 into the second half, giving Kennebunk a goal from a player in each class in its homecoming game.

“That was huge for us. We wanted multiple girls to score. We wanted multiple girls to feel that, basically that high of what it’s like,” said Billings.

Lindsey Gregoire scored her second goal of the game 13 minutes in to equal the Rams’ offensive output from their first four games in just 43 minutes of Monday’s contest. Kristen Koch scored 1:22 later to give Kennebunk its fifth different goal scorer.

The Patriots ended the shutout ”“ both in the game and for the entire season ”“ when Skye Conley scored with 12:18 left.

The final two goals of the game came from Sandford, including the eighth and final tally coming with just 0.7 seconds left in the game. Billings said the hat trick was a just reward for what Sandford has meant to the team this year.

“She is very underrated in our conference. Not only did she score three goals, but she pretty much has a hand in almost every goal that is scored,” Billings said of Sandford. “She is just a total workhorse on that right side. She’s not flashy and she’s not showy, and that’s where I think she goes a little bit unnoticed, but she is just a completely dominant player.”

The Rams will try to build off Monday’s big win in their two other games this week, as they travel to York on Wednesday and Cape Elizabeth on Friday to face Western Class B’s top two teams at this point in the season.

“We just have to remember the feeling of what it feels like to have a big win and score goals,” Sandford put simply of what the Rams need to do to bring momentum into those contests.

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