WINTHROP — Dave Valle has worked feverishly to get the Winthrop High School boys’ soccer team over the hump after years of struggles.

Going into Thursday’s Mountain Valley Conference clash with Wiscasset, the Ramblers had manufactured two victories and were looking for more after taking an early one-goal lead on the Wolverines.

A good start for sure, but it didn’t last. A three-goal outburst later in the first half by the visitors and two early second-half goals propelled Wiscasset to a 5-3 victory.

The Ramblers are 2-5-1 and visit Mt. Abram on Saturday night, while the Wolverines improved to 4-3-1 and head to Dirigo Saturday morning.

Winthrop was hurt by ill-timed infractions, including two inside the penalty area giving Wiscasset consecutive penalty kicks. The Wolverines took advantage of one, giving them a 3-1 lead with 20:30 remaining in the first half, while Ramblers netminder Matt Sekerak stopped the second, one of his 11 saves.

“Matt is only in his second year, a sophomore, and will probably turn into not only one of the best goalies ever at Winthrop but in the conference,” said Valle of his goaltender. “He has been bumped, run into, pushed and stepped on and gets up right away each time.

“The best part of this team is that they don’t quit, and they’ve seen us struggle with our soccer program for years, and now we are playing as a team despite today’s bumps. There are no superstars out there, but they each have a lot of drive.”

“Our forwards have been playing together for a long time and we have some great chemistry, always knowing where to put the ball,” said Winthrop forward Justin Lapointe, who had two goals in the loss. “We need to pull together better as a team and start talking more, but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Down 1-0 after a Jake Valle goal 1:07 into the contest, Wiscasset tied the game when Bryson Grover managed to get a shot off from in front of Sekerak after a corner kick at 9:14 of the first half.

The Wolverines kept coming, taking the lead for good on a JD Souza goal, and Zach Ellison’s blast on Wiscasset’s first PK made for a 3-1 contest.

The Ramblers answered, as Lapointe took a lead pass from Valle and deposited a hard shot past Wiscasset keeper Nate Mills (eight saves) with 15:20 remaining in a wild first half.

A penalty on Winthrop resulted in a second Wiscasset PK, and Sekerak dove to his right to stop Mason Whitaker to keep his squad down by just one goal at the half.

But, Wiscasset struck twice in the first 14 minutes of the second half, both goals coming off the foot of Dale Peaslee, with Souza and Whitaker earning an assist each.

“Me, JD and Mason work well together, and even though we didn’t know if the defense would hold up, we were able to work to get a bunch of goals today,” Peaslee said.

Winthrop didn’t go away, with Lapointe scoring his second goal with 12:03 remaining.

“We get a two-goal lead, then a three-goal lead, and we give up one,” said Wiscasset coach Wayne Benn. “We lack that killer instinct. We had some nice opportunities and we put some in. But, we have to play better when we play Dirigo.”

Wiscasset was able to hold on despite three solid scoring chances from the hosts down the stretch.

The Wolverines finished with a 23-18 shot advantage, and Wiscasset dominated corner kicks to the tune of 10-0.

“We will continue to battle and work hard, as I feel we are pointed in the right direction,” Dave Valle said.