LEWISTON — By the end of the season, a tie with perennial power Brunswick likely will be worth more Heal Points than a victory over anyone in the bottom half of Class A North girls’ soccer.
So when Lewiston reached halftime Tuesday evening at Don Roux Field with the score knotted at one, the Devils didn’t do much to disguise their enthusiasm for the deadlock.
“We kept the same formation, but we had a little different philosophy in the back where we weren’t going to possess it as much. Just one and two touches and get rid of the ball,” Lewiston coach Brant Remington said. “When we got to overtime, we dropped a second defensive mid to keep it sealed in there better. At that point I said let’s get through the 10 minutes.”
Lewiston survived a dozen Brunswick shots in the second half and Jenna Brooks’ rattling of the crossbar late in the second OT to escape with the coveted 1-1 compromise.
Senior goalkeeper Kelsey St. Cyr made 15 saves for Lewiston (3-3-1). Fellow co-captain Alanna Taylor’s goal 12:22 into the game was enough to counter a boatload of Brunswick pressure for the remainder of the night.
Brunswick (5-1-1) notched the equalizer courtesy of an own-goal via Aidan Sachs’ corner kick with 3:34 remaining in the first half. Kira Wolpow was closest to the Lewiston defender when the ball deflected into the net and was credited with the goal.
The Dragons were playing without head coach Martyn Davison, who was home with the flu. Assistants Pat Roche and Terry MacGillivrey ran the team in Davison’s absence.
“That’s a good tie, because Lewiston has been playing some very good ball. We didn’t want to come in here and lose, and we’ll take a tie against a very good team,” Roche said. “We had chances. We didn’t capitalize. They had some good chances with No. 1 (Adela Kalilwa). Excellent play. Both teams played hard.”
Lewiston’s defensive rotation effectively marked Brunswick’s chief offensive threats — Wolpow, Brooks, Anna Kousky and Maeve Arthur — throughout the game.
Lexi Poulin, Sasha Leclair, Morgan Eliasen, Kyla Hill, Lauren Belleau, Emily Gosselin and Kajha Gagnon led the charge in front of St. Cyr.
“We had about six or seven girls playing defense, in and out, and every single one of them stepped up,” Remington said. “Most of the teams we’ve played, we haven’t focused on any one player so it doesn’t take the focus off our game. We’ve just to play hard overall and keep an eye on a couple here and there. We did a good job when those girls got the ball, stepping up to them and getting physical with them and making sure they didn’t get clean shots.”
Taylor took advantage of her uncontested look at Brunswick keeper Beth Labbe after winning a 50-50 ball in the Dragons’ defensive third.
Brunswick’s second corner kick of the half produced the tie. The Dragons owned an 8-0 advantage in that category, overall.
“We had a couple of luck balls, and the one they had off the crossbar was a tough one, but maybe we were a little unlucky with the goal they had,” Remington said.
Eliasen and Blais were Brunswick’s main concern, defensively, with Aidan and Rian Sachs, Emily Black and Sabina Smith fighting off most Lewiston runs.
Kalilwa broke free for a look at the potential game-winner in the final 10 seconds of regulation but steered it just wide left.
“We settled in after that first goal they scored. We had a lot of play, but they’re always dangerous with that No. 1 (Kalilwa),” Roche said. “We knew we had to keep it away from No. 17 (Eliasen). She was a factor, so we put Maeve, our good striker, out wide, thinking that she could beat a lesser player than 17. She had chances. They had chances. Neither of us could put it on.”
St. Cyr’s best save was her dive to deny an Arthur breakaway 13 minutes into the second half. Lena Martin had a bid off the ensuing corner kick but sent it just over the crossbar.
“They’re going to get their share of wins, no doubt,” Remington said of Brunswick. “We’ve been playing very well overall. A couple of times we’ve been on the wrong side of the ball. Now we have Mt. Ararat on Thursday, so we have to do the same thing. That’s OK. They like stepping up.”
Brunswick hadn’t walked away from a game against Lewiston with anything less than a win in years, but the Dragons weren’t complaining.
“It was a very good game, and a tie against a team like Lewiston, we’ll take that every day,” Roche said, quickly adding with a laugh, “Well, Martyn may not take it. He might chew me out when I get home because I made a move he wouldn’t have.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
