Isabella Pelletier, left, of Saint Dominic Academy, and Kassidy Plummer of Gray-New Gloucester High School compete for the ball in front of GNG goalkeeper Mackenzie Baston during the first half in Gray on Wednesday. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

GRAY — Communication. That was the key for the St. Dominic Academy field hockey team on Wednesday.

After a scorelessfirst half, the Saints scored twice in the second behind a goal and an assist from Anna Cote in a 2-0 win over Gray-New Gloucester.

“In our halftime huddle, I asked them what was going on, and they said: ‘We need to fix our communication and we need to start moving to the ball, like 50-50 balls, we need to win them,’” St. Dom’s coach Abigail Bowie said. “Then they did it. I gave them a couple focus points.”

Patriots goalie Mackenzie Baston made five of her nine saves in the opening half.

“We have been working really hard with our goalie and with our (defensive) backs in filling that space appropriately, making sure everybody is doing their job,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Christa Roddy said. “I think it clicked today. Their spacing was good, their pressure looked good, they worked hard.”

The Saints (6-2) made the halftime adjustments and it showed, as they had three penalty corners in the opening six minutes of the second half. They had seven total penalty corners in the game.

“That was one of our other focus points,” Bowie said. “I always tell the girls when we get in the circle, we need to win something, whether that’s a possession call, a long corner or a corner. A score is the ultimate thing we want. A corner is something we look forward to winning in the circle.”

Baston continued to stifle St. Dom’s for the first 12 minutes until Cote sent a cross from the right sideline toward the goal in hope of a tip, and Skye Rogers deflected it into the cage.

“Coach kept telling me to get my stick down in front of the goal and I finally did it,” Rogers said. “(Anna) hit it right to me.”

The goal didn’t deflate Gray-New Gloucester (3-4), as the hosts started to put some offensive pressure on the Saints after going down 1-0. The Patriots had all three of their penalty corners in the second half.

“I didn’t call any timeouts in the second half,” Roddy said. “They found it within themselves and they knew what was expected of them. They kind of get fired up when they get down and try to play through it. We had some talking from our backfield and encouraging (their teammates) and moving them along.”

St. Dom’s goalie Simone Long only needed to make two saves for the shutout.

Cote added an insurance marker with under three minutes left in the game as she chipped the ball over the head of Baston. After a quick discussion between the two referees, they confirmed it was a goal and not a dangerous shot.

“I work on those shots all the time,” Cote said. “Just trying to get it up high because it’s hard for the goalie to stop.”

Skye Rogers, back center, of Saint Dominic Academy reacts after her second-half goal gets past Gray-New Gloucester goalkeeper Mackenzie Baston in Gray on Wednesday. Rogers’ goal put the Saints up 1-0. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Avery Greco of Saint Dominic Academy fires a shot on goal during the first half of Wednesday’s game against Gray-New Gloucester. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Anna Cote’s shot gets past Gray-New Gloucester goalkeeper Mackenzie Baston during the second half in Gray on Wednesday. Cote’s goal put Saint Dominic Academy up 2-0. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Lorelei Bonney, right, of Saint Dominic Academy and Trizzie Ha of Gray New Gloucester compete for the ball during the first half in Gray on Wednesday. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Julianne Cook of Saint Dominic Academy moves in on the ball during the first half of Wednesday’s game against Gray-New Gloucester. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal