AUGUSTA — A patient offense and aggressive defense allowed the Cony girls lacrosse team to take control of the game in the second half against Winslow in the Class B season opener for both teams Tuesday.

The Rams broke a halftime tie with three unanswered goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half en route to a 10-6 victory.

Junior Lauren Coniff scored four goals for the Rams while freshman Faith Leathers-Pouliot added three and Sarah Caron scored two. Freshman Savannah Joler and sophomore Hailey Grenier each scored twice for the Black Raiders.

The teams were tied 5-5 after an evenly played half, but the Rams assumed control in the second half beginning with an opening possession that lasted 1:50. Leathers-Pouliot broke the tie with her first of three second-half goals.

“We have a lot of upcoming freshmen who are going to do good this year,” Coniff said. “So I’m excited.”

The Rams debuted six new starters who began to come together in the second half. Their patient approach on offense was accompanied by an aggressive defense that often double and triple-teamed Winslow ball carriers.

“Things just started to jell in the second half,” Cony coach Gretchen Livingston said. “We just wanted to wear them down with our high-pressure defense all over the field and I think that was the difference with the turnovers that we were able to create.”

Coniff and Leathers-Pouliot combined on a give and go with Coniff finishing to make it 7-5 before Leathers-Pouliot scored through a maze of players to make it 8-5. Senior Tate Batey scored Winslow’s only goal of the second half with 7:33 left to make it 8-6 but by that time, the momentum had shifted toward the Rams.

“We didn’t control the loose balls very well,” Winslow coach Sean Carey said. “We weren’t picking up the loose balls like we should have. I have 17 freshmen and the majority were out there today. It’s their first experience with high school level lacrosse. I’m happy with them.”

Coniff answered Batey’s score with her fourth goal of the day with a weaving run around three defenders.

“I would say (my role) is just kind of helping the team and transitioning into all the new players we have,” Coniff said. “I think we have a lot of things we have to work on to get where we want to be but with the team we have this year, we can definitely get there.”

Leathers-Pouliot, who played a strong midfield game along with Kami Lambert and Molly Silsby, finished the scoring with a steal in front of the Winslow goal with 4:38 left.

Cony finished with a 27-12 advantage in shots. Winslow goalie Carrie Selwood kept her team in the game with 11 saves while Cony’s Katarina Biasuz (first half) and Sarah Cook-Wheeler (second half) combined for four saves.