AUBURN – It was starting to feel like deja vu all over again.

As the clocked ticked away late in the second half Saturday afternoon, the Lewiston girls’ soccer team mounted a challenge to EL’s slim lead. After watching the Blue Devil boys’ soccer team erase a similar deficit in the final seconds to earn a tie earlier in the day, Lewiston had plenty of onlookers a bit anxious, especially those donning maroon and white.

“You can coach yourself and your team all up the week prior to the Lewiston-EL game, and it’s never going to do anything for you,” said EL coach Val Ackley. “Because, it’s all about emotion. Lewiston is a team, despite the one win against Erskine, that’s just as competitive as anybody else. Lewiston was not going to go away. We let down. We didn’t possess the ball as well in the second half as we did in the first. We even had the advantage of the wind and we didn’t take advantage of that.”

Despite Lewiston’s valiant comeback try, the Red Eddies held firm and secured a 1-0 victory. Mary Kate Master’s goal late in the first half held up as EL (3-1-1) blanked the Blue Devils (1-4).

“I was hoping,” said Lewiston coach Steve Corson of his team’s attempt to duplicate the Blue Devil boys’ late game heroics. “We, for some odd reason, don’t get any lucky bounces. We seem to get the unlucky bounces.”

EL controlled much of the first half but despite dominating territorially, the Red Eddies couldn’t produce a goal.

“We were on our half of the field most of the time, so I was hoping,” said Masters, a sophomore midfielder. “Being on that side of the field most of the half and not getting any goals, it was frustrating.”

EL got the break it needed when the ball came in from the right corner. Kathryn St. Hilaire had a crack at it but couldn’t get to the ball, but Masters was there in front. It hit off her and deflected into the net with 4:13 left in the half.

“I just saw them cross the ball as I was running in, and I jumped up to chest it,” said Masters.

Lewiston argued for a handball call but the goal stood. Master says she felt bad about the incidental contact with her hand, but her coach told her she did everything she was supposed to do on the play.

“What I told her was that you checked to the ball,” said Ackley. “You ran through the ball and you ran into the goal. As a soccer player, that’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s the referee’s job to make the appropriate call. You did what you were supposed to do. You ran through and you finished.”

Lewiston picked up its play in the second half while EL let down a bit. The Blue Devils created some decent chances. Kayla Hamel had a shot saved by Kristen Prue. Rebecca Lessard’s flip throw was loose in front before Prue was able to knock it away midway through the half. Chelsea Delcourt had a bid off a Lessard corner kick, but the shot went wide.

“In the second half, we had more of a balanced attack and did some of the things we’re looking to do,” said Corson. “Once we started to move outside and move the ball, we had some chances, and we played a little harder to the ball.”

Adding to EL’s anxiety was a collision midway through the half that knocked Prue out of the game briefly. She limped off after players landed on her knee. Frankie Lally filled in in goal but didn’t face a shot before Prue was able to return.

Prue made a handful of saves late but received great support in front of her by her defense. Lewiston was limited in the number and quality of shots it was able to produce.

“The best decision I ever made was to put Frankie Lally at sweeper back,” said Ackley. “She’s deceptively quick. She has a great foot. She’s able to clear the ball out and keep the pressure off Kirsten. Dee Morency plays phenomenal for us day in and day out. Melissa Paione and Phoebe Chamberlin are new to varsity and are playing very well at outside back, and Kristen Whittaker had some good minutes too.”