LEWISTON — Early in the first half Thursday, the Lewiston’s boys’ soccer team hit everything but the net.

The Blue Devils had shots hit the crossbar, the post, the goalie and even a defender in front of an open net.

“We created some opportunities but we have to take advantage of them,” Lewiston coach Mike McGraw said. “We had an open goal and kicked it right to a defender. A couple went wide. We’re still struggling with that.”

Lewiston finally got a goal off a dead ball midway through the first half and added a another tally in the second half to blank Brunswick, 2-0.

Abdibaari Hersi scored the first one through a crowd to stake the top-ranked Blue Devils (8-1) to the early lead. Abdulkarim Abdulle scored the second goal on a pass from Abdi Shariff-Hassan.

“That was huge,” said McGraw of the first goal. “I know they weren’t full strength.  I know by October you’ve got to worry about them because they’re a good team.”

Brunswick (5-4)  played a strong game and possessed the ball well for much of the second half. The Dragons just couldn’t get the quality scoring bids they needed.

“I was proud of the effort,” Brunswick coach Mark Roma said. “I was proud they didn’t duck their heads and look to get out of town. I was impressed with the effort, but we’re past the point of the season where we can hang our hats on moral victories. We need results, and we didn’t get it, but they played well.”

Both teams had chances early, but Lewiston had a number of them that had players shaking their heads.

Maslah Hassan had an open net when Brunswick keeper Ryan Brescia missed the ball on a rush. The Dragon defenders flocked to the goalmouth and Hassan’s shot was blocked by Reed Foster.  Shariff-Hassan had a nice chip that hit the crossbar and then he hit the post with another. Abdullahi Shaleh had a hard shot saved by Brescia.

Brunswick had a bid by Ryan Black down the middle but shot wide.

Lewiston broke the tie with 21:31 left on a free kick. Hersi fired it through a crowd. Brescia was shielded by the wall and the ball found its way into the net.

Black had a dead ball shot wide later in the half and the Dragons finished strong in the closing minutes but couldn’t score.

“At no point did I feel we were out of the game,” Roma said. “It’s just the beauty of the game itself. As long as you’re willing to work, you’re going to create chances.”

Brunswick played well in the second half but was foiled by the Lewiston defense and keeper Austin Wing.  The Dragons had an opportunity early in the half with a player trying to outrace a defender for a loose ball. Wing nixed that by charging out to break up the play.

“We had an opportunity two minutes into the second half,” Roma said. “If we get that one, who knows. It’s the beauty of the game and the curse of the game.”

Lewiston’s sophomore keeper made a sensational save later in the half. Black fired a shot from the right side that Wing dove to stop. The ball rebounded out front for Alex Reny. Wing dove in the opposite direction to rob Reny of a goal.

“Austin’s save was fantastic,” McGraw said. “He came up to us and said that he worked on that in practice yesterday and it paid off.”

Lewiston got the second goal with 18:26 left in regulation. Shariff-Hassan made a nice run down the right side. He centered a pass in front for Abdulle, who blasted it home.

“He had a brilliant pass, and Karim did a nice job with it,” McGraw said. “They finished it. That was nice.”

[email protected]