LEWISTON — Maybe kissing your sister isn’t so bad after all.

In common sports nomenclature, that’s what any contest ending in a tie is supposed to resemble.

“If ties are like kissing your sister, maybe my sister isn’t too bad,” Edward Little coach Dave Morin joked.

In a game that featured rivals Lewiston and Edward Little dead even in every major statistical category, it was only fitting that for the second time in as many meetings this season, the Devils and Eddies finished deadlocked when the final horn blew, this time locking horns in a 0-0 tie at Don Roux Field on a wind-swept and chilly Saturday afternoon.

“I thought both teams played great,” Morin said. “I thought we did enough today to maybe win the game, but we didn’t.”

“These are the games that are fun to play in, and fun to coach in,” Lewiston skipper Mike McGraw said.

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Not that both teams didn’t have ample opportunity to light the lamp. Lewiston has defender Matt Beauparlant to thank for keeping things scoreless late in the second half. On a corner kick, the ball came into the box and EL redirected it behind a diving Chris Jacques. With the Lewiston keeper prone, another shot sailed toward the high side of the net, just beneath the crossbar. Beauparlant sailed across the goal line and knocked the ball away with a header with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

“Jacques had the other three-quarters of the net,” Beauparlant said. “I saw him dive for it, and i jumped up for it too, and I’m glad I got my head on it.”

On the other end, the Blue Devils’ speed was less of a factor Saturday than in the teams’ early-season 1-1 tie. But the Devils still had their chances. EL defender Jeremy Theriault had a similar save to Beauparlant’s, clearing the ball with a boot off the goal line midway through the first half.

It was a game that also defied logic on the weather front. Normally, a team playing with the wind will have an advantage over a team trying to play against it. Saturday, that worked backwards.

“The wind was a factor, but both teams played it very well defensively,” McGraw said.

“All the through ball with the wind were going to the keeper,” Morin said. “We talked about it at halftime and said, ‘Make those same through balls against the wind, and they won’t reach him.’ Keeping the ball on the ground kept us in pretty good shape.”

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It was tough to find any statistical differences between the teams. Each squad had 20 shots at goal, each keeper made eight saves and EL led by the slimmest of margins in number of corner kicks, 8-7.

“We came off a lackadaisical effort at Erskine even though we created a bunch of offense,” Morin said. “Lewiston is coming off scoring eight goals against Cony, so we know they have offense. This was a great result.”

The teams now also sport identical records, sitting at 6-2-3 with three games remaining.

Edward Little’s Adam Timberlake and Lewiston’s Curtis Robinson fight over the ball in the second half of their game Saturday. They ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtimes.

Lewiston’s Dave Ouellette attempts to control the ball around the legs of Edward Little’s Nate Blais while Lewiston’s Abdullahi Abdi Musse keeps his eye on the ball in the second half of their game Saturday. They ended with a 0-0 tie after two overtimes.

Lewiston’s Ahmed Mohamed and Edward Little’s J.J. Jackson tangle as they both attempt to control the ball in the second half of their game Saturday. They ended the game with a 0-0 tie after two overtimes.


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