AUGUSTA — The Cony field hockey couldn’t have asked for a better home opener.

The Rams cruised to an 8-1 victory over Erskine Academy in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B matchup at Fuller Field. Junior midfielder Elise Cunningham led the scoring output for Cony (1-1), notching three goals in the first two quarters. Natalie Dube, Maci Freeman, Isabella Smith and Abby Morrill added goals for the Rams.

“It was great (to get the win),” Cunningham said. “I can’t wait to put (more goals) in and I’m just ready to keep playing.”

Erskine falls to 0-1.

It was the first regular-season game for Cony on the new artificial surface at Fuller Field, and the Rams showed a quick style to go with its new surface, making long passes and showing the ability for breakaways on offense.

“We’ve been on the turf — we had one practice on grass — but we’ve been on the turf the whole preseason,” Cony head coach Holly Daigle said. “We really got used to that pace. And it kind of showed yesterday (in a 3-2 loss to Leavitt), I kind of questioned myself on not practicing as much on grass. Our attack, we’ve got speed. And our passing game was really on today.”

Cunningham scored the first two goals for the Rams in the first quarter, her second assisted by Caroline Hendrickson. Dube tallied a goal off a penalty corner for Cony early in the second quarter, and Cunningham added her third and final goal, on a breakaway, with four minutes remaining. Cony entered halftime with a 4-0 lead.

“It was beautiful,” Cunningham said. “We had great passing. It was unbelievable.”

The Rams continued to put the offensive pressure on the Eagles to start the second half. Freeman gave Cony a 5-0 lead with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter. Smith and Morrill rounded out the scoring for the Rams in the fourth quarter.

Daigle was happy with multiple scorers playing part in the win.

“We have a lot of girls who can put the ball in the cage, a lot of playmakers,” Daigle said. “(Hendrickon, Freeman), they really get the ball up to our forwards and create a lot of scoring opportunities for us. Total team effort. Regardless of the stats, from the goalie all the way up, I was proud of the team effort today.”

Despite the score, Erskine stayed game and fought throughout. Evelyn Rousseau tallied the Eagles’ lone goal with four minutes remaining.

“I’ve got to say, Erskine has come a long way from last year,” Daigle said. “They’re making incredible progress from last year. I thought their goalie did a great job. And they challenged us, defensively in this game, for sure.”