By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

TOPSHAM – For a brief instant, the Mt. Ararat boys’ soccer team felt relief and triumph.

After struggling to score against Lewiston all evening, it seemed as though Tyler Simpson’s chip shot in front was the breakthrough the Eagles had been searching for. As suddenly as it came, however, it disappeared. The goal was waived off and the 0-0 tie remained with 2:22 left in the second overtime.

That letdown from a dangerous play call didn’t dissuade the unbeaten Eagles. Adam Paine scored with just 56 seconds left in the final overtime to lift Mt. Ararat to a 1-0 victory over the Blue Devils.

“I was really proud of my guys for not giving up,” said Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud. “They were looking to win the game to the last second.”

It was a disheartening loss for the Blue Devils (7-3-1). Lewiston got a superb effort from goaltender Brian Nason and the defense in front of him, led by Erik Waite, Tom Baril, Cory Chamberlain and Mike Archibald.

“It was a great effort,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw. “They had a wave of guys coming down on that game-winner. We’d been stopping them all day. This is a high-powered, very physical, very fast Mt. Ararat team. Our kids came to play, and they played very hard.”

Paine’s game-winner came off a cross from the left corner. Paine got his fourth goal of the year by firing it into the top of the net.

“C.J. Dirago was on the sideline and placed a perfect ball right along the top of the 18,” said Paine. “I had it lined up. There were not defenders within six feet. I just blasted it.”

Mt. Ararat (11-0) outshot Lewiston 21-3. Despite picking up the effort in the second half and creating ample amount of pressure, the Eagles couldn’t end the stalemate.

“We were struggling,” said Paine. “We always seem to have trouble finishing against Lewiston.”

Nason didn’t help matters. He made back-to-back saves early in the game on a Tucker Jones’ shot and a rebound by Noah Greenlaw. He also made a diving save in the first overtime to rob Dirago.

“Nason had the game of his career,” said McGraw. “He was fantastic.”

Mt. Ararat also had a header wide by Caleb Levesque in the second half. Paine hit the crossbar and Bobby Van Note hit a shot wide after it bounced around the goalmouth. When Nason wasn’t on every save, the Lewiston defense was doing a fine job blocking shots and clearing the ball.

“It’s one of those games,” said Renaud, whose team beat Lewiston 2-1 earlier in the year and outlasted the Blue Devils in penalty kicks in the playoffs last fall. “Lewiston worked their tails off. They took us out of our game somewhat, and just couldn’t finish. “With a team that plays that hard, you’ve got to finish. They keep the faith and it keeps them working.”

Lewiston’s best offensive surge came with pressure in the first overtime. Husayn Carnegie had a header off a cross that went wide.

“I knew what we needed was to have that little span of time to take advantage of any breakdown that Mt. Ararat had,” said McGraw. “That was going to be our opportunity, and we had that opportunity.”