AUGUSTA — When two teams approach a game with the same plan, superior execution generally wins out.

Such was the case Friday when Mt. Ararat used surer first touches and sharper passing to knock off Cony 2-0 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A boys soccer game.

The visitors struck once in each half, taking a 1-0 lead with five to play in the first half and grabbing an insurance goal with 16 left to play in the game.

“We just did not show up and execute our game plan,” Cony coach Jon Millett said. “In fact, we watched Mt. Ararat do exactly what we wanted to do.”

That plan was to force the ball to one side and flood it on defense while using precision passes on offense to flip the field and avoid getting trapped on one side. But in the end, the Eagles were much sharper with the ball and it cost the Rams.

“I thought it was a good, tough game,” Mt. Ararat coach Jack Rioux said. “We wanted to go short and keep the ball on the ground. We’re not a big team and we know they are, so we had to avoid trying to go up top with them.”

The Rams were able to use their size to control play for stretches, holding up the ball deep into Eagles territory. But Mt. Ararat was able to possess the ball for longer and eventually that wore Cony down.

The result might well have been more lopsided if not for the efforts of Cony junior keeper Nick Robinson, who was busy all afternoon, especially in the first half.

Robinson made his first save in the 16th minute, leaping to punch out a nice Eagles cross. He followed that with three consecutive saves on balls played in off corner kicks in the 23rd minute.

Then, with the game still 0-0, Mt. Ararat drew a penalty kick on a 1-on-1 run at the top of the box. Robinson held his line, feinted right and then dove left to stop and then smother a well-struck PK.

“Cony’s a good team, and their goalie made some good saves,” Rioux said.

“Nick’s a big strong kid and he has improved a lot,” Millett added. “That PK was struck well and where you want it to be and he still got to it.”

On a sweltering afternoon, the Eagles finally broke through in the 35th minute of the first half.

With Mt. Ararat largely controlling the late run of play, Jimmy Pelletier took one touch on a nice cross on the rush and punched it into the top right corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

The teams played up and down again to open the second half, but the Eagles again found a way to break through as play wound on. Again on a rush, Travis Nadeau took a cross, made a slick move to his left foot and buried the shot to largely ice the game for the visitors.

“The first touch, that’s what we’ve been working on,” Rioux said. “Those are the plays we have to make.”

With the win, Mt. Ararat moved to 2-1-0 on the season. It plays cross-town rival Brunswick on Tuesday night.

“Hats off to Mt. Ararat,” Millett said. “They are well-coached and well-disciplined and they played well.”

The loss was the first of the season for Cony, which fell to 2-1-0. The Rams play Skowhegan on Tuesday night.