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The strategy worked so well the first time for the Cheverus field hockey team, the Stags just had to repeat it.

Lucy Johnson again scored an early goal, Cheverus got another from Zoey Radford for a fourth-quarter clincher, and the Stags earned their second 2-0 victory of the season against Biddeford, extending their regular-season winning streak to 54 games.

It seemed a facsimile of the first meeting on Sept. 6. Biddeford again generated most of the chances in the middle of the game, but Cheverus (8-0) used Johnson’s early tally to ensure it was playing with the lead.

“It kind of did. It was back-and-forth, it was anyone’s game again,” Cheverus Coach Andrea Musante said. “I felt like we played maybe a little more organized. … We were prepared for them to be faster and stronger, and they were.”

It also felt eerily – and frustratingly – familiar for the Tigers (6-2), who have scored 43 goals across their six wins but haven’t been able to capitalize on any of their chances against the defending Class A state champions.

“It felt exactly like (the first loss). Now, looking back, I’m like ‘Is it a copy-and-paste from Sept. 6?’ ” Biddeford Coach Caitlin Tremberth said. “It does feel like a copy-and-paste, and I hate to see it because I know both teams have gotten better. … It’s a little frustrating. I was hoping for it to be a little bit different.”

Biddeford had three corners in the first half to one for Cheverus – the high-powered Stags’ only corner the game – but in a matchup of two of the state’s best teams, Johnson again provided her team with the upper hand. Late in the first quarter, she gathered the ball past midfield, rushed forward, shook off a defender and fired a shot from the left side that found the net with 2:55 to go.

“I just tried to get off of my reverse … because I had a feeling the goalie would have made the first save,” she said. “Both teams were very hyped up coming into this game today. We knew what we were getting into. We’re both very talented teams, and I think getting that first goal was definitely a boost.”

The Tigers spent much of the first half and into the third quarter on the attack, but missed chances as a stingy Cheverus defense denied them. Mia Mariello had a good chance from the left side midway through the third but fired just wide.

Tremberth said getting a breakthrough could ease the scoring woes.

“We had multiple opportunities in front of the net,” Tremberth said. “We just need to get one in the back of the net. … I feel like scoring hasn’t been an issue (this season), but we do need to get that initial goal. Then they can play and kind of rest their shoulders a little bit. It feels so simple as that.”

Instead, Cheverus picked up the pace in the second half. The Stags began to control the action, and that increased time on attack paid off when Radford took the ball into the top of the circle, made space for herself, and ripped a shot that found the net with 11:29 to play.

“It felt so good. It was a relief, honestly, kind of a weight off our shoulders,” Radford said. “I knew I had another teammate close to me … so I didn’t know if I wanted to get that shot off the pads for a rebound. I put it on net and hoped something good would happen.”

Musante credited an improved passing game with tilting the game back in the Stags’ favor.

“We realized that we can’t rely on those big runs up the field, like we might be able to in some other games,” she said. “That kept Biddeford on their heels, but at the same time, we had one corner the whole game. Biddeford’s defense was so clean and so strong, I have to pat them on the back for that.”

And the Cheverus defense, again, was just as good. The Stags have allowed just two goals all season.

“We got into their circle a bit more than they got into ours,” Johnson said. “Our defense is so strong. … We executed below the 25 better and got rid of the ball quicker.”