RUMFORD — When Mountain Valley and Winthrop face off against one another on the field hockey field, there are typically few differences between the clubs.

Such was the case again Wednesday. Play went back and forth, with each team earning opportunities, and it was Winthrop that had the lone breakthrough.

Senior Emily Molino scored just past the five-minute mark in the game and the Ramblers used their passes to create space and a solid defense to hold off Mountain valley in a hard-fought, 1-0 triumph.

Winthrop’s Corinna Coulton (four saves) and counterpart, the Falcons’ Alyssa Akers (five saves) each were able to rely on stout defensive efforts that proved to be the difference.

“We had talked about not having played our best game up here, so we needed to stay focused and use our stick skills,” Winthrop coach Jessica Merrill said, remembering two years ago when the teams battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Indeed, Winthrop (8-1-1, ranked third in Class C North) engineered an early surge that led directly to the lone goal. Winthrop midfielder Kinli Dibase advanced the ball and Sarah Spahr fired a shot off a Mountain Valley defender. The ball skittered left and Molino flicked it past Akers’ right leg pad 5:12 into the contest.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Mountain Valley (3-7, No. 8 in Class B South).

“We have allowed several early goals and they have killed us. We seem to be always playing from behind,” Mountain Valley coach Melissa Forbes said. “We saw Winthrop playing everybody up when they had the ball. So in the second half, I changed the left wing and put Alyvia Lee in, because she is more physical.”

Mountain Valley pressured the zone and forced four penalty corners in a row. Arianna Viger passed the ball in and Chelsea Allison used a reverse stick to send a ball toward the open corner, but Winthrop back Katriona Hajduk rotated back and flicked the chance away.

Several times, Mountain Valley players seemed to delay for a second and Winthrop anticipated the direction of the ball. In field hockey, spacing becomes extremely important.

“Winthrop would steal the ball,” Forbes said. “I also switched up the defense, in an effort to be more physical.”

The Mountain Valley defense was solid with seniors Brooke Carrier, Liza White, Brooke Carrier and Liza White, and sophomore Courtney Thibodeau, combining to clear balls away.

“We are a good passing team and like to control the ball,” Merrill said. “Also, our aerial game was effective because it opens up game and it’s not used much in Mountain Valley Conference. (Akers) deserves a lot of credit for them.”