LEWISTON – With the wind at their backs and the momentum on their side, the Edward Little girls’ could sense it Saturday morning.

The Red Eddies weathered a persistent Lewiston attack in the first half but had begun to turn the tide when the wind went their way in the second half.

“They came out strong,” said Katelyn St. Hilaire, a senior forward. “But when we get into our game, it takes us a little while, but we get it. We just have to get into our game.”

With a goal from St. Hilaire and a superb defensive effort, EL made the second half its own in a 1-0 win over the Blue Devils.

St. Hilaire fired a shot from 20 yards away that hit the top right corner of the net 8:13 into the second half.

“I have a great team that passes great,” said St. Hilaire. “They make it easy to finish off great passes.”

From there, EL’s defense preserved the win. Already warmed up from a hectic opening half, the Red Eddies defenders shutdown the Blue Devils. Abby Downs, Alicia Large, Annie Helmcamp and Deanna Morency were superb in front of keeper Kirsten Prue. Lewiston managed just two shots in the second half. If a Blue Devil got the ball with a chance of getting a shot off, EL’s defense quickly rectified that situation.

“I don’t want anyone to beat you to the ball,” said Abby Downs, EL’s outstanding senior sweeper. “If they beat you, you have to hustle your butt back, and you get on them. Nobody’s going to beat us on a breakaway because one of us is going to get back.”

Lewiston discovered that numerous times. Michelle Rancourt made a nice steal and rushed for the net late in the second half. Large caught her and moved her off the ball. Morency cleared away a threat, and Kayla Hamel had a bid knocked away by Downs at the end of regulation.

Lewiston (1-3-1) controlled play for much of the first half. The Blue Devils utilized the wind and kept persistent pressure on the EL defense. Rancourt consistently pressured the defensive backs and when Lea Morin returned after getting treatment on the sidelines, she had a scoring bid as well. Despite outshooting EL 7-5 in the half, the Blue Devils couldn’t take advantage.

“Except for Morse, we’ve been having trouble finding a way to put the ball in the back of the net,” said Lewiston coach Steve Corson. “That’s one of the things we need to work on. That’s our struggle right now. We can defense all the top players and all the top teams, but we’ve got to put some in to be able to win.”

EL (4-1) didn’t help Lewiston’s cause. The Red Eddies defense faced the pressure and wind at their faces with poise and continually thwarted the Blue Devils pressure.

“We’ve been working on keeping players to the outside of us,” said Downs. “We’ve been trying to run hard and get back the best we can. What we’ve tried to do is keep them outside the lines so they don’t have a chance to attack in the middle. The defense has done a great job. They listen and do what we ask of them.”

Late in the first half, EL moved the ball better and got an offensive attack going. That set the table for their wind-aided second half and St. Hilaire’s second tally of the year.

“She’s a game-maker,” said EL coach Joe Bradbury. “She has the skills. She has the grit. She has the talent, and we know she’s going to get keyed on, but when she gets left alone, she’s going to make them pay for it.”