LEWISTON — Quick passes and quick decisions propelled the Lewiston boys soccer team to a 6-0 win over Mt. Blue on Tuesday night at Don Roux Field.
The Blue Devils pulled away from the Cougars with a flurry of goals in the second half that turned a 2-0 lead to 6-0.
“I thought (the players) were very good about sharing the ball, and we created a lot of opportunities,” Lewiston coach Dan Gish said. “I was impressed by how we moved the ball.”
Shafi Ibrahim led the Blue Devils’ offensive attack with two goals.
Mt. Blue (4-7-1) coach Zach Conlogue said that the way the Cougars played in the loss is something they can build upon.
“We have had these games where we have been in it for a half, 1-0, 2-0, and then we kind of falling apart from there,” Conlogue said. “We give up three, four goals in a seven-minute span, and it’s 5-0.
“We fought; it was 2-0 with 19 minutes left. Yes it was 6-0, but we fought for this entire game. We can gain something from that.”
Ibrahim scored the first goal on a direct kick about 20 yards out, giving the Blue Devils (9-2-1) a 1-0 lead six minutes into the game.
“I took a deep breath and I just hit it,” Ibrahim said.
It was one of a handful long-range shots Lewiston had in the opening half, but the only one that got past Mt. Blue goalie Chase Ranger.
“I thought we had a lot of great opportunities; hat off to their goalkeeper,” Gish said. “I thought he played really well, and I was impressed with him.”
Mohamed Gabow scored inside the 18-yard box in the 15th minute of the first half to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
Ranger, a junior, stopped the next 12 shots he faced.
“Chase played a heck of the game; this is his first year playing high school soccer,” Conlogue said. “He played football the last couple of years — a huge pickup for us. He stood on his head and made a lot of big saves.”
Ranger had 15 saves in the game.
Lewiston finally broke through again midway through the second half when Kudri Heri’s long distance shot went past Ranger. One minute later, Ibrahim scored to extend the lead to 4-0.
Ibrahim said he likes to give his team a boost by scoring a goal.
“It gets my team rolling as soon as I score; it’s just how it is,” Ibrahim said.
Gish said he told his players at halftime to make quicker decisions.
“At halftime, we talked about shooting the ball a little bit quicker, one less touch, and that’s when things started to open up,” Gish said. “I thought we moved the ball pretty well in the first half; I just thought we took an extra touch.”
Emilson Zocolo had a great individual effort near the goal line for the Blue Devils’ fifth score of the night in the 31st minute.
Sophomore Eden Likibi scored on a free kick from 45 yards out as time expired.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
