LEWISTON – Mike McGraw knows a thing of beauty when he sees it, even if it is the game-winner for the opposition.

Ben Koons unloaded a shot from about 25 yards out late in the second half Wednesday. The sudden strike from the Messalonskee midfielder lifted the 10th-ranked Eagles to a 2-1 win over seventh-seeded Lewiston in their Eastern A boys’ soccer preliminary.

“I’ve always told the kids that if anybody beats us, they have to earn it,” said McGraw. “That was a great goal. Unfortunately, it was the game-winner.”

With the game tied 1-1, Koons stepped up in the midfield and converted a Lewiston clear attempt. He one-timed a shot, with a little help from the wind at his back, to break the tie with 16:46 left in the game.

“I intercepted the pass,” said Koons. “I saw the gap. I one-touched it to the net. I think the wind helped it a little. I got lucky.”

Lewiston (6-5-4) tried to rally but was playing against a stiff wind in the second half. The Blue Devils best chance came with 14:30 left when Hamdi Naji sent a dead ball toward the net where Chris Jalbert’s header hit the crossbar.

Lewiston tried to take advantage of the wind in the opening half but couldn’t convert. Lewiston’s Tom Burg, Dave Labonte and Naji all had chances but put them over the net.

“I thought that in the first half if we’d put in two or three quality chances that we had that would set the tone,” said McGraw. “In the second half, I thought we could weather their attack.

“That’s been the thing all season. We haven’t been proficient all season, but we’ve done a great job playing defense.”

At 2:15 of the second half, the Eagles (9-5-1) took advantage of the wind. Dustin Snow’s corner kick got some extra push and added curl when it sailed into the net. Lewiston managed to tie the game just over three minutes later when Labonte hit a header that went toward the net. Nate Deschaine raced in on the left side to tuck the ball inside the post.

“They played well for five or 10 minutes after that,” said Mesalonskee coach Ian Wilson. “I thought it kind of rattled us, but then we settled down.”