CORINTH – The Central High School field hockey team passed a test Monday that had nothing to do with the classroom.

On a cold, blustery morning, the Red Devils earned what coach Diane Rollins sees as a good win over a good team when they edged Stearns of Millinocket 2-1.

The win was Central’s 11th against two losses while the Minutemen fell to 6-7.

“We’ve had somewhat of an easy schedule this season. So, when we get to teams like Stearns or Dexter or Guilford [Piscataquis] we’ve had to recalculate what we do out there on the field,” Rollins said.

Jody Harvey calculated things just fine, scoring both goals in the win.

Both goals came in the first half, the first just seven minutes into the match when Kristina Gallagher fired the ball into the goalmouth on a restart from top of the penalty area. Jenny Rollins got her stick to the ball, deflecting it to Harvey at the left post who slapped it by a helpless Stearns goalie Kristin Bradbury.

Then, with 7:29 left in the half, the Red Devils produced a goal following a scramble in front of the Stearns goal when Katie Ahearn managed to corral the ball and push it to Harvey. The senior flicked the ball inside the left post.

The goal appeared to be a back-breaker for the Minutemen. The Red Devils had dominated play, allowing Stearns just one shot in the first half. But the visitors came out in the second half a totally changed team.

“The first half we pretty much dominated,” Harvey said. “We let up a little bit and they really came back and showed us what they could do.”

Stearns applied the pressure from the outset of the second half and it paid off in a goal by Holly Franck less than two minutes after the restart.

Stearns continued the attack, keeping the play in the Central end for long stretches.

“In the second half we came back,” Stearns coach Wendy Polstein said. “But we couldn’t get by the deficit. We certainly had our chances.”

The Minutemen’s best chance came five minutes after Franck’s goal when Sarah Connelly ripped off a shot that appeared headed inside the right post. But Central goalie Jenna Dauphinee flashed out her left pad and kicked the ball away. Dauphinee made four saves on five Central shots.

Stearns’ pressure forced Rollins into taking a timeout to relax her team.

“I told them they needed to step up their game. And they did. I was proud of them,” Rollins said.

Bradbury and Julie Emery combined to turn away seven of 12 shots for the Minutemen.