Lewiston’s Grace Dumond takes aim at the goal as Oxford Hills’ Marissa Paine tries to block her during Tuesday afternoon’s lacrosse game in South Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
PARIS – Lewiston coach Brant Remington sang a few lines of the Go-Gos’ smash hit song “Vacation” early in the first half, twisting the words to fit the way his team was playing against Oxford Hills.
Last week’s spring break vacation was not all he ever wanted for his team, especially not the way it started Tuesday’s girls’ lacrosse game.
“We were flat,” Remington said.
The Blue Devils, though, finished the first half with a flurry of goals and then controlled the second half for a 14-6 win over the Vikings at Gouin Athletic Complex.
“I think from vacation, honestly, we were all kind of out of it,” Lewiston captain Gabby Wilson said. “But once we saw the first half, we knew that we weren’t that team, and we improved.”
Goals by Caroline Burns, Cecelia Dieterich and Julia Colby helped Oxford Hills lead for most of the first half.
“We were definitely feeling like we were dominating on offense,” Vikings coach Jaimee Smith said. “We had opportunities, and great opportunities, multiple opportunities, too, for them to be able to pass, move the ball and have those opportunities to score.”
Wilson scored with 3:07 remaining in the first half to tie the score at 3-3, but Maggie Hartnett put the Vikings back on top a half-minute later.
Lewiston finally got going in the final 96 second of the half. Erin Lachance scored with 1:36 left, and Rachel Ouellette gave the Blue Devils the lead with 1:10 remaining. Lachance put another one in with 25 seconds left.
After trailing most of the half, Lewiston went into the break leading 6-4.
“I think once they got behind 4-3, they realized, what a minute, we didn’t come over here to lose this game,” Remington said.
The Blue Devils kept rolling after halftime. Less than two minutes in, Christine Chasse scored the first of her four second-half goals. Freshman Grace Dumond scored the first of her two second-half goals a couple of minutes later.
Oulette and Lachance also scored in the second half as Lewiston tallied 11 unanswered goals to push the lead to 14-4.
Burns scored a pair of goals for the Vikings, her second and third of the game, around the five-minute mark to round out the scoring.
Remington and Wilson said that the break left the Blue Devils rusty and off-kilter. They also were unaccustomed to the grass of Gouin Athletic Complex, having played only on turf or inside on the gym floor up to this point in the season.
The Vikings had a similar level of discomfort with the playing surface, having only started using their home field Monday. Before that, their only experience was indoors or on a muddy morass with no lines.
“So the feel, the size, everything was a new adjustment,” Smith said.
The Vikings (0-1) host Edward Little on Thursday.
Lewiston (2-0) plays at Cheverus on Saturday.
Oxford Hills’ Morgan Letourneau loses control of the ball as Lewiston’s Sydney Hill keeps the pressure on during Tuesday afternoon’s lacrosse game in South Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
Lewiston’s Erin Lachance controls the balls as Oxford Hills’ Maggie Hartnett pushed from behind during Tuesday afternoon’s lacrosse game in South Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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