LEWISTON — No junior varsity team. No real feeder system beneath that level, either. No surplus of assistant coaches or substitutes.

Those are the round numbers that vex the Oxford Hills girls’ lacrosse team.

As for the zero that best represents the heart, soul and talent of the Vikings, it resides in the loss column.

Oxford Hills stayed undefeated Tuesday, weathering a late Lewiston rally to pull off its third straight triumph, 11-9, in the drizzle at Bates College.

Hey, there’s a long way to go, but defending Eastern Class A champion Mt. Ararat and Windham are the only other teams in the region to start their season and not yet lose a game.

Entering Tuesday, nobody else enjoyed more than one win.

“I’m not going to lie. I didn’t think it was going to happen,” senior Hannah Warren said. “Our first scrimmage went real badly.”

But a one-goal win over Edward Little and a one-sided victory over Mountain Valley turned things around.

Momentum and confidence continued to grow against Lewiston (1-2), even after the Devils exploded to an early 3-1 lead.

Oxford Hills scored five of the final six goals prior to the half, with Warren and fellow senior co-captain Marisa Hanning each connecting twice.

Defensively, led by goalkeeper Audrey Komulainen (nine saves) and Kristen Gamache, the Vikings held the Devils to one goal over a span of 37 minutes.

“I really got on my core girls about how much they had to give for this game,” Oxford Hills coach Sarah Proulx said. “They definitely earned that win. I couldn’t be more happy or more proud. My two captains with their nonstop, never-give-up effort, they made the winning difference.”

Those disadvantages in the numbers game cost the Vikings down the stretch.

Two players — Lewiston’s Saba Naji and Oxford Hills’ Gamache — were disqualified from the game after each received a second yellow card.

They were flagged for checking, which is illegal in girls’ lacrosse. Each will be forced to sit out the next game, as well.

Because Gamache’s infraction was the Vikings’ third of the contest, Oxford Hills was forced to play short-handed for the final 12 minutes.

“We know that can’t happen again,” Hanning said.

Lewiston almost made it a hard lesson. Trailing 9-4 when the Vikings went into the extended penalty kill, the Devils delivered three goals in 76 seconds.

Kayla Hamel connected twice. Sara Marden scored after an Emily Paione steal to make it a two-goal gap with 4:52 remaining.

“I don’t think it was a much them losing a player as our kids getting the confidence and coming to the realization that, ‘Oh, they’re a man down. We can do this.’ Confidence and composure have been our key words,” Lewiston coach Christy Gardner said. “Getting them to believe in themselves is not something you can teach.”

After taking a quick timeout and hearing Proulx preach the increased importance of the possession game, Oxford Hills slowed Lewiston’s surge with a goal by junior Danielle Allen.

Kirstin McCombs scored two of her four goals for Lewiston in the late stages. Oxford Hills countered with an Abby Morton strike set up by Allen.

Warren collected four goals to lead the Vikings. Hanning and Allen each added three goals and two assists.

“We know we have plenty of things to work on,” Proulx said. “I have no bench. I have two freshman starters who have never played before. I had a player who needed to come out of the game, and she couldn’t. There are no gift games for us. We need to stay healthy and stay eligible.”

koakes@sunjournal.com