By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Laura Martel had only an instant, but that’s all the Lewiston senior needed.

In a flash, the Blue Devil sniper found space and opportunity Monday. She turned it into a 2-1 lead that held up in a Lewiston girls’ soccer victory over Edward Little.

“That was a big time shot,” said EL coach Tom Grossman. “I think it was the only shot they had in the second half. There’s not a goalie in the league that’s going to stop that.”

Martel had already scored once in the game but found another momentary glimpse of the net early in the second half. She had the ball, room to maneuver and turned around to fire a shot that sailed high into the net.

“Allie Morin gave me a great ball,” said Martel. “I turned around and didn’t have anybody on me. I saw an open shot. I’ve been working on taking open shots. So I turned around and blasted it.”

The goal 3:03 into the second half was all Lewiston (5-1) needed. The Blue Devils held off a strong second half by EL (4-2). Though EL produced 10 shots on net, it couldn’t beat Blue Devil freshman keeper Katie Cobb and the defense around her.

“They’ve been playing solid, solid defense,” said Lewiston coach Rick Meyers. “We had a loss and had a couple goals scored on them, but they’re playing well together. Katie Nadeau, our sweeper, leads everything back there. She really does direct it. With Cobb playing goal, they’re a really seasoned defensive unit.”

EL worked feverishly to get the equalizer but couldn’t produce the chance it needed. Lindsey St. Hilaire had a try by beating a defender but couldn’t get much of a shot off when Cobb came charging out to take the angle away. Cobb also stuffed a bid by Beth Esponnette and caught a ball put back into the area by Elizabeth Langelier. Cobb also made a save on a high shot by Esponnette.

“The second half, I thought we dominated the half,” said Grossman. “We possessed the ball a little bit more and had a couple more opportunities than they had.”

EL had taken the 1-0 lead with 21:38 left in the first half. Olivia Welch sent a corner kick to the front of the goal where Erin Cain was there for the header.

Welch helped preserve that lead just 1:06 later, kicking out a Lewiston shot with the net open. Martel, however, got the equalizer with 20:10 left in the half. Morin sent the ball ahead for Martel, who redirected it into the right corner of the goal.

“That was a huge boost for our team,” said Martel. “We were kind of down. It stinks to have to come back on a goal. The goalie came out and the defense dropped off, and I just kind of tapped it in. It was great. It was a big boost for our whole team. The energy level was just boosted up.”