La Salle-Peru came out aggressive against rival Ottawa, and it paid off.

The Cavaliers scored early and kept the pressure on throughout as they came away with a 5-1 Interstate 8 Conference victory Wednesday in Ottawa.

The Cavs quickly took possession at the start of the contest and just over two minutes into the game, Ismael Mejia found a hole in the Ottawa defense and blasted a shot for an early 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Ottawa’s Jorge Lopez had a good look, but the shot sailed high over the net.

Just a minute later, Mejia settled the ball down and found Adan Pantoja, who scored to give the Cavs a 2-0 edge.

“I thought we came out on fire to start the game,” L-P coach David Spudic said. “I thought we got relaxed a little bit and then were able to pick it back up, which was nice to see.”

With just over 33 minutes left in the first half, Ottawa looked like it was going to get on the board when Rory Moore got to the middle of the field, but Shuarlin Cucul Cal made two nice defensive plays to keep the Pirates scoreless.

The L-P defense remained tough on the Pirates and five minutes later it showed again when Lopez tried for the corner of the net only to be denied by goalie Logan Grzywa.

But shortly after that, the Pirates got on the board with a header from Lopez to cut the deficit to 2-1.

With 19:28 showing on the first half clock, Mejia stole the ball from the Pirates and turned to fire for his second goal of the game to regain a two-goal lead for the Cavs at 3-1.

“I thought we started off a little wonky,” Mejia said. “Both teams came out strong. I think our defense was phenomenal tonight and Logan (Grzywa) has been getting better and better in net, but I have to thank my teammates for getting me the ball in the right spots to score.”

In the second half, Ottawa’s Luca Fernandez picked up a steal and had a good look, but his shot sailed just high over the net.

Just over two minutes later, Grzywa made another save to keep the Cavs ahead two goals.

Not long after, it was the Pirates turn for some great defense as Ian Fulkerson slid for two saves.

But with 20:18 left in the game, Pantoja settled the ball down then fired into the corner of the net to put the Cavs ahead 4-1.

Just over three minutes later, Mejia stole the ball again and turned it into offense for the hat trick and the dagger as the Cavs came away with the 5-1 victory.

“I actually thought we played physical with L-P tonight,” Ottawa coach Kevin Olesen said. “L-P did a nice job capitalizing on their counter attacks and we just didn’t limit those opportunities tonight.”

For L-P (9-1, 2-1 I-8), Mejia had a hat trick, while Pantoja scored twice. Lopez had the lone goal for the Pirates (7-4, 1-2).