If Tuesday’s game is any indication, the Lewiston High School field hockey team is not only awake, but bouncing off the walls with energy.

Shaima Naji and Jenessa Talarico scored a pair of goals each and three other Blue Devils found the back of the cage as the team rebounded from a tough loss to Messalonskee with a 7-0 victory over Edward Little.

“It just felt like we were better than yesterday. That’s what we try to do,” Lewiston’s Olivia Norton said.

“It’s a wonderful rivalry, because it’s friendly, and it’s one of those things we look forward to,” Lewiston coach Randy Richardson said. “We love playing Edward Little.”

Lewiston had scored only four goals in four games to start the year, and three of those came in a win over Brunswick. Facing a very young Red Eddies squad with new players scattered across the lineup provided just the remedy for the Devils’ emerging offense.

“The better teams we’ve played so far have made it absolutely clear to us the importance of sound, fundamental skills,” Lewiston coach Randy Richardson said.

Each of the past two seasons, EL (0-4) lost a large number of players to graduation, leaving the team young and inexperienced at the varsity level.

“We have a lot of young kids and I play a lot of freshmen, and hopefully that pays off down the road,” EL coach Greg Perkins said. “But we worked hard (Tuesday), and I saw some improvement, especially in the second half.”

The team’s youth has kept Eddies’ keeper Danica Nadeau busy. Nadeau is also in her first year as a goalie. She stopped 15 shots Tuesday, and has faced more than 100 already this season.

“She’s done a really good job for us so far,” Perkins said of Nadeau.

But Lewiston (2-3) was relentless with its attack. After Abbie Loisel finished from the left post 8:05 into the game, Naji and Talarico scored in a 32-second span less than five minutes later, and Naji added another less than four minutes after that to put Lewiston in command, 4-0.

“We kept the ball in the offensive zone for more than three quarters of the game,” Lewiston’s Laurianne Murphy said.

EL forced its first penalty corner late in the first half, and again pressured early in the second, but the Lewiston defense and goaltender Kaylyn Labonte held firm.

Maria D’Auria made it 5-0 in Lewiston’s favor with 16:59 to play in the game. Kaylyna Sampson scored with help from Talarico with 2:54 remaining, and the two players traded places as Talarico scored 20 seconds later to cap the scoring.

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