LEWISTON — Leah Thibodeau was again the difference for Edward Little against rival Lewiston.

The junior forward scored three goals in a 3-2 victory over Lewiston in the Red Eddies’ field hockey regular season finale Wednesday.

“That one last game, you got to lay everything out on the field,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I really felt our chemistry was on, our passing was on; everything was connecting. We just gelled really well.”

In the teams’ meeting last month, Thibodeau scored the game’s only goal in the Red Eddies’ 1-0 overtime win.

Lewiston coach Jenessa Talarico said both team did well creating offensive chances, but Edward Little did a better job capitalizing.

“I thought (we) played really hard,” Talarico said. “We had great opportunities, they had great opportunities. It just came down to who finished. Overall, I thought the effort for both teams was great.”

Unlike the Sept. 15 showdown, which was scoreless through four quarters of regulation, Wednesday’s contest got off to a blazing start. Freshman Lauren Cote’s long-distance shot found the back of the cage off a penalty corner, giving the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead 3:37 into the first quarter.

Cote has been a go-to player for Lewiston (2-11) down the stretch.

“She has scored back-to-back games now,” Talarico said. “She’s starting to get comfortable playing high-level field hockey. She’s only a freshman, but I believe she’s our second-leading or leading goal scorer right now.”

Edward Little (4-9-1) scored off a corner later in the first when Thibodeau smacked a shot past Lewiston goalie Kim McLaughlin.

Nearly 11 minutes into the first, Red Eddies forward Adrianna Couture dribbled the ball from Edward Little’s defensive end into the offensive zone and sent the ball into the circle, where Thibodeau tipped it into the goal for a 2-1 lead.

“My friend Adrianna and I, we have really good chemistry on that forward line,” Thibodeau said. “We were connecting really well, it was just that one tip to finish it — that got us going, too.”

Couture also had an assist on Thibodeau’s first goal.

McLaughlin kept the Blue Devils’ deficit at 2-1 by stopping three shots near the goal late in the first quarter.

Things settled down in the second quarter, which became a battle between the circles. The Red Eddies managed to get a shot toward the goal, but it went wide.

Lewiston had its second corner of the game late in the second quarter, but Edward Little defended it well.

Both teams went on the attack in the third. McLaughlin stopped the Red Eddies with three more saves. She finished the game with six.

The Blue Devils pressed late in the quarter, and in the final seconds had a corner. They kept the ball in the circle and forced another corner.

On the second attempt, junior midfielder Bella Dube battled near the goal line and jammed a shot past Edward Little goalie Kasey Smith (two saves) to tie the game at 2-2. Gabriella Thomas had the assist

Lewiston has practiced corner scenarios at the end of a quarter.

“We talk about if you ever see 20 seconds or less, we take the defense and put them all on the circle,” Talarico said. “We really just try to pound (the ball) in the net.”

Thibodeau scored her third goal of the evening with a shot near the goal line in the middle of the fourth quarter, giving the Red Eddies a 3-2 lead.

“A lot of emotion came out on that (goal),” Thibodeau said. “I think we really needed that; we had a hard time the whole season getting that one last goal. We were an overtime team the whole season, and (tonight) we were like, ‘No overtime, no overtime.’ I feel that really relieved us.”

Amanda Raymond had the assist on the game-winning goal.

Joler said the Red Eddies were building momentum just before Thibodeau’s game-winner.

“I definitely think in the fourth quarter, we kind of had enough, we needed to wrap this up,” Joler said. “They were all determined to do that.”

Lewiston called a timeout after the goal, but Edward Little kept the ball in Lewiston’s defensive end of the field for the rest of the game.

“I think (Edward Little’s) ability to drive the ball from one end to the other is better than us,” Talarico said. “It really tired us out and we had to work hard and sprint the ball up the field.”

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