UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. —  After a rough start to the 2015 season, the Edwardsville field hockey team found its winning form on Tuesday.

The Tigers, who had opened the year with a 5-0 loss to Villa Duchesne and a 4-1 loss to St. Joseph’s Academy, scored five goals in the first half on the way to a 6-0 win at University City.

With its dominant performance, EHS looked more like last year’s team, which posted an 18-6-2 record and reached the semifinals of the Midwest Tournament.

University City, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3. The Lions have been outscored 18-0, including a 5-0 loss to Marquette and a 7-0 loss to MICDS.

“This was great for our confidence,” EHS coach Julia Tyler said. “The girls did play well against St. Joe’s and they knew they couldn’t underestimate this team.

“One thing we talked about, especially after the St. Joe’s game, was to come out strong and get a quick goal, and we were  able to do that today.”

Edwardsville needed only 52 seconds to score its first goal, as a shot by sophomore Ansley Dorsey got past University goalie Cheyenne Poland. The assist went to senior Ryley Miller.

Before it scored again, EHS put almost constant pressure on the Lions. With 22 minutes remaining in the first half, a shot by Miller was blocked by the University City defense.

With 13 minutes to play, Poland made a save on a hard shot by Allie Hosto. On the Tigers’ seventh short corner of the game, with 9:30 remaining, another shot by Miller was blocked.

Edwardsville finally went up 2-0 with 8:47 to play, after its eighth short corner. Junior Annie Mulford, who was the team’s leading scorer last season, got the unassisted goal.

“The first two games didn’t go as we had hoped, and U. City is a good team with a lot of speed, so we knew couldn’t take them lightly,” Mulford said. “I thought we connected well and we had a lot more shots on goal.

“Losing the first couple games the way we did kind of beats you down a bit, but we’ve been trying to keep ourselves up. We don’t want those two games to reflect our entire season.”

If there was still any doubt about the outcome, EHS removed it by scoring three late goals to close out the half.

“All of the girls stepped up today and played very well,” Tyler said. “We had some great shots and I saw great movement of the ball.

“We were able to finish today. The girls were inside the circle when shots would happen and they were able to tip it in.”

With 2:28 to play, the Tigers got an unassisted goal by sophomore Natalie Nava after their 10th short corner. Poland had made the initial save on a shot by Miller.

EHS boosted its lead to 4-0 on a goal by senior Claire Smith with 1:58 remaining. The assist went to Mulford.

The fifth goal of the first half came  with no time on the clock, after the Tigers’ 12th short corner. Junior Olivia Fink scored after tipping in a shot by Hosto.

The Tigers displayed offensive balance in the first half, getting five goals from five different players.

Sophomore Sarah Blume, who started the first half in goal for EHS, didn’t get much work. She was replaced at the start of the second half by freshman Anna Farrar.

The second half produced only one more goal for the Tigers, but they continued to control the play.

With 16 minutes remaining, after Edwardsville’s fifth short corner of the half, a shot by Miller hit the top of the net, just over the right goalpost.

EHS closed out the scoring with 8:17 to play after a scramble in front of the net. Nava got the unassisted goal, her second of the game and her third of the season.

“I feel like I’ve gotten better at becoming a team player,” Nava said. “We lost a lot of good seniors from last year, but I think we’re starting to connect better.

“We’re not going to let the first two games get to us and ruin our season. This win is going to pick up our confidence.” 

With time running out, University City had most of its best scoring chances. With six minutes remaining, Jillian Pritchard drove into the Tigers’ zone and got off a hard shot, but couldn’t get it past the defense.

The Lions finally got their first short corner with under two minutes to play, but the EHS defense was able to knock away a shot by Justice Corn.

Edwardsville’s dominance was clear in its 19-1 advantage on short corners.

“Today we worked on different corners than we’ve had in the past, so it was good practice for us,” Tyler said. “It gets us ready for this weekend with the teams we’re going to play.”

EHS plays in the Gateway Classic at the Sportport in Maryland Heights, Mo. Under a revised schedule, the Tigers face DuPont Manual at 9:15 p.m. Friday.

Edwardsville has two games on Saturday, playing Cor Jesu at 8 a.m. and New Trier at 11:15 a.m.

“All three are very good teams, so we’re going to have to come out strong like we did today,” Tyler said. 

“We’ve been practicing hard and working on a lot of things from the previous two games, so I think we’re ready.”