LEWISTON – The ball sat on the 15-yard line, still marked from the football game last weekend. Seth Patten of Messalonskee lined up his kick and booted it, a high hook to the far upper corner. Just as it dove toward the netting, the outstretched hand of Lewiston netminder Eric Grenier caught a piece of it and tipped it over the crossbar.

“That was close,” said Grenier. “I didn’t think it would make it low enough at first, but then it just dropped.”

With that save, Grenier cemented a 1-0 victory over Messalonskee in KVAC soccer action at Don Roux Field on Thursday. The Lewiston netminder finished with eight saves, including five in the second half.

Lewiston (4-1-2) got the only offense it needed at the 8:41 mark of the second half. Having made a quick transition from the middle of the field, the Blue Devils controlled the ball through the Eagles’ midfield. Mohamed Mohamed picked up the dribble about 30 yards away from the net and touched it square to his left to Danny Laroche. Laroche slammed the shot low to the left of Messalonskee keeper Keith Levasseur. It never touched the ground as it rippled the mesh for the 1-0 lead.

“I didn’t really have time to think about where it was going,” said Laroche. “I was worried about getting it on net.”

For Lewiston, it was one of a very few chances the Eagles’ defense afforded them.

“In a game like this, where it’s very tough soccer, you have to take advantage of any chances you get,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw. “We waited out their push to open the half and were given that chance at that time.”

For the final 20 minutes of the game, Messalonskee (4-3) went to its strengths, forwards Jason Wentworth and John Fisher, but after a stellar first half, the Blue Devils managed to bottle them up in the second.

“Their bench is much deeper than ours is,” said Messalonskee coach Ian Wilson. “I think we started to run out of gas near the end. Our legs were pretty shredded.”

The first half started well for the Eagles, who maintained pressure for most of the half. Grenier made three saves that half, equaling the total from Levasseur in that half.

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