When Lewiston’s Desirae Roy hit the post early in the second half in a season-opening field hockey game, the clang of ball on post reverberated around the field.

It was a moment of frustration for the Blue Devils and a wake-up call for Oxford Hills.

“That was the turning point,” Lewiston coach Randy Richardson said.

The Vikings responded and picked up their game. Oxford Hills netted the game-winner with 9:24 left when Tayla Smedberg finished off a three-on-one rush.

“That scared me,” said Smedberg about Lewiston’s near miss. “I was like, ‘No!'”

“After we saw that, we yelled that we needed to keep it together and we needed to step up.”

From then on, the Vikings did a better job breaking up Lewiston’s offensive push. The Blue Devils struggled to get the ball into the circle. The Vikings would break up the play and move it the other way. It was a quick transition that led to Smedberg’s game-winner.

Jesse Murch had the ball in the midfield and saw space up the center. She sent the ball ahead and sprung Smedberg with a great pass.

“She made a perfect shot, ” Smedberg said. “She drove it right onto my stick. It made for a perfect angle. So I could get my feet around. I just looked to see where the goalie was lining up and took a slap shot.”

Smedberg had Hayley Wakefield on one side of her and Abby Angevine on the other. With the lone Lewiston defender shading Wakefield on the left side, Smedberg elected to keep possession.

“I saw Hayley down in the corner and Abby was (on the other side),” Smedberg said. “I thought I personally had the better angle. I knew if I passed to them, it would give more chance for the defenders to come down. So I knew I had a better chance and if I missed it, they had a better chance to get the rebound.”

She didn’t miss, firing it past Lewiston goalie Kaylyn Labonte, who finished with seven saves for the Blue Devils.

“She read the defense perfectly,” said Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard. “If the defender had moved on her, she would have passed. So she had the shot.”

The Vikings created some pressure to follow the goal, but in the final minute, Lewiston tried to rally. The Blue Devils got the ball in deep but couldn’t get a shot that would test goalie Taylor Fillebrown. She finished with three saves. On one penalty corner,  it was Murch who made a nice defensive play and cleared the ball from harm’s way.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” said Richardson, who only had 14 players on his roster. “They’re working very hard. We’re still in a fitness phase of the year, and it’s because of our numbers. We don’t have the numbers.”

Both team’s had some quality chances in the first half as the two clubs traded surges. Lewiston got a great shot from Roy and Jenessa Talarico had a bid saved. Caitlin Bernier had an opportunity for the Vikings, but a Lewiston defender managed to block her shot in front.

“They had some good shots early on, some wide open shots,” Goddard said. “We were also strong for a minute and then we’d rest for a minute and then play strong again.”

Shots were even at the half. The Vikings came out strong in the second half, but the best bid came  following a Lewiston surge. That’s when when Roy hit the left post at 8:50.

“We have to try to get them earlier and try to make the most out of the opportunities we get,” Richardson said.

It was a good test for both teams to start the regular season and a little bit of momentum to start the Vikings out right.

“It was really nice,” Goddard said. “The is a good senior class. We knew Lewiston would be tough coming in. We played them this summer. We just finished up a good round robin. So we were feeling pretty good with what we had.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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