Lewiston and Edward Little kicked off their seasons Thursday with an opener at Walton Field. Lewiston got the early lead and fought off a late EL rally for a 17-5 win.
“I was amazed that our attack was stronger than our defense,” Lewiston coach Butch Dow said. “We were working on our defense most of the week.”
Natalie Rousseau and Kelsey Dumond each scored four goals. Mariah Carrier added three while Laurianne Murphy had a goal and three assists. Edward Little got three from Taylor Landry and two from Hannah Johnston. EL was without seven starters because of illness and a vacation trip.
“I had a couple players out there that had never played in a varsity game,” EL coach Jessica Somers said.
Lewiston built a 6-1 lead in the first half. When Rousseau hit the net early in the game, it set the tone for the Blue Devils persistent attack.
“We knew (EL was shorthanded), but we didn’t want to take that into consideration,” Rousseau said. “We just wanted to start off hard and strong.”
Jess Cote struck first for Lewiston and Landry answered for EL. The Blue Devils then scored five straight, from five different players. Dumond, Rousseau, Paione, Carrier and Mikaela St. Laurent all scored to open the lead.
“Coach’s motto is to pass the whole game,” said Rousseau. “So we try to pass for him a lot.”
EL was held to just six shots in the first half as Lewiston’s attack and defense limited the Red Eddies.
“Sam Cote and Emily Paione were our anchors back there,” Dow said. “We’re still young in our defense. We have a lot of young defenders. Our attack is all seniors, and I think that showed today.”
Carrier opened the second half with a pair of goals and a tally by Rousseau made it 9-1, but EL suddenly gained some momentum. Landry went the length of the field for a goal. Then Johnston scored and Landry added another in a span of 1:34.
“The things that I saw gave me great hope for the rest of the season,” Somers said. “Some really good things, we can build upon. I saw lots of things we can keep working on.”
After EL got within 9-4, Lewiston answered that rally with six straight. Dumond had three goals during that stretch while Jess Cote and Rousseau also scored.
“I told the girls not to get too confident in this game,” Dow said. “The next game could be a lot more difficult.”
With hardly any subs, fatigue caught up with the Red Eddies. EL got one more goal from Johnston late in the second half before Lewiston completed the scoring with goals from Rousseau and Kristina Blais.
“We did what we could do,” Somers said. “I had a lot of kids play positions they’d never played before.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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- Edward Little’s Caitlyn Williams, left and Lewiston’s Natalie Rousseau battle for the ball during Thursday afternoon’s girls lacrosse game between Edward Little and Lewiston High Schools at Walton Field in Auburn.
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- Lewiston’s Bri Wilson reacts after Edward Little goalie Julia Langevin stopped her shot during Thursday afternoon’s girls lacrosse game between Edward Little and Lewiston High Schools at Walton Field in Auburn.
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- Lewiston’s Emily Brochu looks to pass to a teammate after getting past EL’s Liz Castro during Thursday afternoon’s girls lacrosse game between Edward Little and Lewiston High Schools at Walton Field in Auburn.
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- Lewiston’s Bri Wilson, right and EL’s Taylor Landry face off during Thursday afternoon’s girls lacrosse game between Edward Little and Lewiston High Schools at Walton Field in Auburn.
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