LEWISTON — Patience allowed Edward Little to surprise Lewiston with a first-half lead in the school’s girls’ lacrosse game at Don Roux Field on Friday.
Patience also helped the home-standing Blue Devils recover, pass and ultimately topple the Red Eddies in the teams’ KVAC showdown, 8-1.
Kristina Blais keyed the Devils’ surge with three goals in succession in the first half. She finished with four overall to lead the team.
“We came out flat,” Lewiston coach Skip Capone said. “We weren’t really ready, and we had chances to score four or five early, and we didn’t.”
One reason for the Devils’ slower start was EL keeper Mariah Vaillancourt, who stopped 14 shots, including 10 in the first half. In front of her, the Eddies’ defense buckled down.
“The defense did a great job this game making sure they were set up properly, they were positioned well,” EL coach Jessica Somers said. “They were doing a great job putting as much pressure as possible.”
“Their goalie played very, very well,” Capone said. “We could have had two or three goals right off the get-go, and she made some great plays.”
Fran Haines gave Edward Little the lead with 13:05 to play in the first half after scooping up a ground ball and firing the ball past Lewiston keeper Paige Fontaine.
“In this game, to shut somebody out is pretty hard,” Capone said. “Then we kind of got it rolling.”
The Devils finally solved Vaillancourt with 10:06 remaining in the first when Blais converted a feed from Lauren Lecompte. Four minutes later, Blais struck for the first of two in 44 seconds to push the home team’s lead to 3-1.
EL could not solve Lewiston’s defense again.
“We played great defense,” Capone said. “They got a couple of shots, that was it.”
“Now that it seems that our defense has become more solid, our next goal is to work on getting more quality shots on goal,” Somers said.
Capone didn’t change a thing prior to the Devils’ scoring surge — Lecompte and Emily Brochu added another pair before halftime to push the Lewiston lead to 5-1.
“We just kept playing,” Capone said. “We were better with our passing, we were a little more patient, got some fast breaks. Bottom line is, we converted. We put the balls in the corners.”
Patience with the ball paid off in the second half, as well. The Devils maintained more possession, and kept the Eddies well to the outside of the cage on defense. Lecompte, Allison Frechette and Blais added goals in the second half to cap the scoring.
Despite the loss, EL’s staff was pleased with the team’s effort, particularly on defense.
“I am just over the moon happy,” Somers said. “We were doing all the right things. It’s amazing how much this team has progressed in such a short amount of time this season. It’s showing how much hard work they’ve put in.”
Lewiston will be on short rest Saturday when they host Biddeford at 11 a.m., and they’ll be looking for a faster start.
“I know it’s a quick turnaround, but we have to come out stronger in the first half against them,” Capone said.
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