TOPSHAM — There wasn’t time for long, deep contemplation.

Still, Benji Abdisalan Saban knew he had to take a moment. It was all the time the senior forward had, but he made the best of it.

Instead of rushing an inaccurate shot,  he thought about his move and made it. He fired home the game-winning tally with 1:19 left in double overtime to lift Lewiston to a thrilling 3-2 win over Mt. Ararat in a boys’ soccer game Thursday.

“I was thinking about that,” said  Saban. “I knew I had the ball, and I knew I had the shot.”

It was a great come-from-behind win for the Blue Devils (8-1-1). Lewiston was down 1-0 and 2-1. A Drew Olehowski goal tied it with 3:03 left in regulation.

“This was like a heavyweight prize fight,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw, whose team was ranked third going in but supplanted the Eagles atop Eastern A after the victory. “It was like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.”

After both teams traded surges during regulation, the play went back and forth in overtime as well. Lewiston had one of the best chances early when Saban was tripped just outside the penalty area with four minutes left in the first overtime. His shot off the dead ball was blocked by the Mt. Ararat wall of defenders.

Then late in the second overtime, a crossed ball landed in front of the goal.  Ben Chicoine and Saban were each there. Choicoine deferred to his teammate.

“Ben had it and I told him to let it go because I thought I had the better angle than him,” said Saban. “I just tried to turn and take a shot.”

It was the third straight overtime game for Mt. Ararat (6-1-3), which seemed to have the game in hand after a Brett Martin goal made it 2-1 with 17:17 left.

“The focus was to just play the game,” said Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud, who earned a yellow card in the first half and a red card following the game. “We should have been playing the ball to the corners and trying to play the game out. We didn’t do that.”

The Eagles came out strong from the start and dominated the first five minutes. Mt. Ararat took a 1-0 lead at 4:23 when a throw by Joey Van Note was knocked down by Lewiston keeper Eric Soucy. Dan Purington pounced on the loose ball and put it home.

“At the beginning of the game, they came out and blasted us, which is something I think we needed,” said McGraw. “Then we gathered ourselves and did a good job in the second half.”

Saban had a shot go wide midway through the first half and Yusuf Yama had a bid hit the crossbar. Mt. Ararat had a few late opportunities. Alden Talbot had a shot saved. Another Van Note throw led to a header in front that Soucy made a leaping save on.

“Once they answered back, we started to get on our heels,” said Renaud. “You can’t play on your heels against these guys.”

Lewiston tied the game with 25:03 left in regulation.  Dahir Muktar crossed the ball and Chicoine buried it at the left post. The Blue Devils began playing some of their best soccer and had a pair of chances from Saban midway through the second half.

“I had a feeling I was going to score a goal,” said Saban.

It was Mt. Ararat that got the tie-breaker. Alex LaPierre sent the ball ahead for Martin. He ran on to it nicely and headed it past a charging Soucy with 17:17 left.

That seemed to break Lewiston’s spirits. The Blue Devils struggled to get their edge back. A couple of shots by Muktar and a shot over the net by Mohamed Ali started to get Lewiston’s offense attacking again. Then with 3:03 left, Olehowski possessed the ball behind the front line and put the ball toward the net.  It sailed over the keeper’s head and snuck inside the left post for the equalizer.

“Then they got that (bad) goal,” said Renaud. “The kid wasn’t shooting the ball. He was just putting it up there.”

Mt. Ararat got a rush from Martin in the final seconds of regulation that was broken up by Soucy.

Mt. Ararat had won the first meeting this season 2-1 at Lewiston. The Eagles lost to the Blue Devils in the final seconds of regulation at home last year.

“I have so much respect for Mt. Ararat,” said McGraw. “I know they’re hurting right now. It was a fierce, fierce game. To win on their field is great. They beat us on our field. I don’t have any feeling left. I’m drained.”

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