SOUTH PARIS – Katie Morin could see the problem, and by the time halftime was over Tuesday night, the rest of the Lewiston girls’ soccer team knew as well.

“Usually in our first halves, it’s been even between both teams,” said Morin, who spoke to her Blue Devil teammates after a scoreless first half against Oxford Hills. “The reason we haven’t been getting the ball to the other side is because we haven’t been winning it. We haven’t been stepping up. We still control the ball and winning 50-50 balls and throw-ins helps us. Everybody knew, I just stepped up and said it.”

The reason Lewiston coach Rick Meyers lets his captain speak her mind is because she’s usually right. The Blue Devils proved that again as Lewiston controlled much of the second half in a 2-0 win over the Vikings.

“It was a slow start for sure,” said Meyers. “We were here most of the afternoon. It’s a long afternoon for our girls. I think it took them awhile until halftime. We tried to change up a few things. We really wanted to keep possession of the ball and thought we’d get one through eventually.”

Unbeaten Lewiston (7-0-1) scored twice in less than three minutes. Laura Martel had a goal an assist while Morin had a goal. The Blue Devils first goal came off a corner and the second was off a throw.

“Where their team is strong is off restarts,” said Oxford Hills coach Kyle Morey. “If you give them corners and give them throw-ins 30 yards in, that’s how they’ve scored all year, from my guess in scouting them. That’s what they did tonight.”

The Vikings had played Lewiston fairly evenly for the first 60 minutes or so. Oxford Hills, (4-5) looking for the upset, couldn’t take the early lead despite a pretty good start.

“That was one of our keys, to make sure we scored first,” said Morey. “We had to give them everything we had. I wanted to test what that team would do being down a goal, but we couldn’t put it in the back of the net.”

In the second half, Lewiston began to pick up the pace. Mallory Long, Martel and Amanda Michaud all had quality shots. The Blue Devils began to win the ball in the midfield and push it at the Viking defense, feeding off its momentum.

“We definitely stepped up,” said Morin. “We won 50-50 balls and our throw-ins. It was our spirit. Once we see that we start doing what we talk about, we’re a team that keeps going up and up and up.”

Lewiston pressure paid off with 20:53 left in the half. Martel’s corner kick sailed to the front of the net, where Morin was poised for the header.

With 18:04 left in the game, Lewiston made it 2-0. Morin’s throw landed in front of the net. It bounced around between bodies before Martel converted.