LEWISTON – Lewiston High School desperately needed Tuesday’s 2-1 girls’ soccer triumph over Mt. Ararat.
No, the Blue Devils weren’t in any danger of missing the postseason. But to journey any farther than the quarterfinal round, Lewiston required something, right now, to convince itself that three-goal losses to Mt. Ararat and Brunswick earlier this fall were an aberration.
“It’s important not to go into the playoffs thinking that a team like that has your number,” said Lewiston coach Rick Meyers.
Then again, as long as Laura Martel roams the open field for Lewiston, it’s hard to imagine the Blue Devils needing counseling in the art of positive self-talk or other mind-altering affirmations.
Martel scored both goals for Lewiston, her 20th and 21st of the season. The school’s all-time leading scorer put the Blue Devils (8-2-1) ahead to stay with 31:51 remaining in the game.
Kelsey Rodrigue won a 50-50 ball near midfield and threaded a pass to Martel in traffic. Martel darted to the right of three Mt. Ararat defenders, closed in on goalkeeper Jessica Stahl with a burst of speed and rang her shot off the inside of the left post.
“I think the defenders might have collided, and I was able to get around them,” Martel said. “I noticed in the first half that (Stahl) was playing out a little bit, so I tried to get off my shot before she could get back on-balance.”
Martel’s clever go-ahead goal represented Lewiston’s only serious scoring bid of the half. It allowed the Blue Devils to drop their star back to the midfield, where she’s equally adept defensively.
“We talked at halftime about needing to score a quick goal,” said Martel. “They’re such an explosive team that we knew we probably would have to change our format a little bit to slow them down.”
Ali Morin, Caitlyn Robitaille, Katie Nadeau and Lea Chouinard also shone defensively in front of freshman goalie Katie Cobb, who made 14 saves.
Lewiston weathered both an indirect kick and a direct kick off the foot of senior midfielder Chelsea LeDuc in the final 10 minutes.
“I thought that direct kick was going in and we were going to overtime,” Meyers said. “Lucky for us she missed by a foot, or maybe by a shoelace. They have so many people who can score a goal to beat you.”
Lewiston went on top in the seventh minute of the first half when Martel headed one past Stahl after Morin’s own header rattled the crossbar.
The Eagles (9-2) knotted it less than six minutes later when Kelsey Karkos one-touched the ball past a defender and sent a cross to sophomore Lexie Hauser, who booted it in off Cobb’s leg.
Mt. Ararat shut out Lewiston on its own field, 3-0, less than three weeks ago.
“That seemed to be the story of the KVAC this year. We’re all knocking each other off,” Meyers said. “This is the biggest win for us so far.”
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