LEWISTON — Once Lewiston shook off its nerves, its offense started rolling, and the Blue Devils defeated Edward Little 13-4 in the season opener for both girls lacrosse teams Thursday.
“I think everybody was nervous at first; we weren’t used to playing all together again,” Mya Grant said. “It’s been the first we all have been here since the beginning of the season started. Once we got that first goal, that really set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Rebeca Lussier scored six goals for the Blue Devils, while Grant had three goals and two assists, and Kirsten Lachance added two goals in the win.
Megan Lachance, who will play lacrosse at Franklin Pierce next season, scored all four of Edward Little’s goals.
“Our offense is designed behind Megan and or three midfielders: (Isabelle) Hayes, Marina Morgan and Caroline Audette,” Edward Little coach Shaun McKinnon said. “We are trying to give them the ball. Our defense did a hell of a job today, but if we were able to get the ball to our offense more in Megan Lachance’s hands, it would have been a closer game.”
Lewiston controlled the ball for the first two minutes of the game but couldn’t get a shot off.
The Blue Devils finally found the back of the net when Leah Landry passed to Lussier, who fired the ball home near the four-minute mark of the first half.
“We need to get settled into (the offense) to get our (plays) working and communicate with each other,” Lussier said.
Edward Little kept Lewiston at bay for a stretch of time, but Kirsten Lachance ran from behind the net to the front of it and fired the ball past Red Eddies goalie Hallee Brown (four saves) for a 2-0 lead midway through the first half.
Lewiston coach Tracey Blaisdell said Kirsten Lachance’s play at midfielder was key for Lewiston.
“We made a slight adjustment; Kirsten Lachance was a game-changer for us. We moved her from that offensive role back to (midfield),” Blaisdell said. “We strategically placed her to prevent that breakaway moment; it kept our offense moving to the goal.”
Grant stretched the lead to 3-0 when her bounce shot found the back of the net at the 15-minute mark.
“I created a turnover, and my teammate passed it to me. I was wide open,” Grant said.
Shortly thereafter, the Blue Devils extended their lead to 4-0.
Then Megan Lanchance grabbed the ball and ran down the field and scored the Red Eddies’ first goal.
The Blue Devils scored twice more at the end of the first half, including one by Lussier that beat the buzzer and made the score 6-1.
Lilly Gish found Leah Landry cutting toward the goal, and Landry scored to put the Blue Devils up 7-1 early in the second half. The Blue Devils put up another two goals on the board for a 9-1 lead.
Megan Lachance scored her second of the game 10:20 into the second half to cut Edward Little’s deficit to 9-2.
Grant tallied her hat trick goal, and Julia Perkins added her only goal of the contest to put Lewiston up 11-2.
Megan Lachance scored her third goal off a free position opportunity. Her fourth was an end-to-end goal with under four minutes to play in the game.
In between those two Edward Little scores, Lussier notched her fifth goal with about seven minutes remaining in the second half for a 12-3 lead.
Lussier capped the scoring on a free position for a 13-4 lead.
“We only have been outside (practicing) for three days, and we only have played on turf twice,” McKinnon said. “The girls are going to get better, and they will improve. I was happy with their intensity and never giving up.”
Goalie Elaina Gendron stopped two shots for the Blue Devils. Blaisdell said she was pleased with Lewiston’s defense.
“I am looking at all these turnovers (we created), just the interceptions alone, it was just absolutely fabulous,” Blaisdell said. “I think we are looking at 10 interceptions, alone.”
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