Boys soccer: Dayow Daud and Mohamed Adow lead Edward Little past Lewiston

LEWISTON — Tuesday night’s rivalry showdown was the Dayow Daud and Mohamed Adow show.

The two Edward Little boys soccer standouts scored two goals apiece in the Red Eddies’ 4-1 victory over Lewiston at Don Roux Field in the regular season finale for both teams.

“I think everyone showed up today and played their hardest and worked their (butts) off,” Daud said.

Both squads will move on to the Class A North playoffs. Edward Little (13-0-1) is top seed in the region, while Lewiston (9-4-1) will finish fourth or fifth.

Tuesday’s game was a continuation of the Eddies and the Devils’ 1-1 draw on Sept. 15.

Midfielder Jack Thompson was in Edward Little’s lineup for the first time in 2022, having been sidelined due to injury since before the start of the season. His return gives Edward Little another option on offense and allows Daud to moved from the central attacking midfield position to the wing.

“Mohamed has been doing it all season, and to have some other guys to be able to provide a lift is incredible,” Edward Little coach Max Thompson, Jack’s father, said. “We have been playing Dayow in the middle of the field as a (central attacking midfielder). He’s been creating (offense), but being able to have Jack there really opens things up. It allows us to shift some guys out wide, and that’s big for us to have another weapon at (wing).”

Daud said that he is glad to be playing on the wing.

“We had Jack back in the middle; he can move the ball well,” Daud said. “The ball movement was crazy today, I just have to stay out of the way, and hopefully he can get the ball to me.”

The Red Eddies attacked the Blue Devils with long-distance shots in the first half Tuesday. Jose Sebastiao booted the first shot, which sailed over the crossbar.

Adow put Edward Little on the board first with a shot from 25 yards out nearly 13 minutes into the game.

“I think that’s something coach talked about (before the game), the first five or 10 (minutes), we need to come out with that intensity and put up a goal,” Adow said. “Once we score a goal, we kept motivating ourselves; we keep going, and we kept pushing.”

Lewiston’s Kudri Heri nearly tied the game two minutes later, but his shot went wide.

Blue Devils coach Dan Gish said Edward Little took advantage of Lewiston defensive miscues, and that the Blue Devils’ offense couldn’t get shots to go into the net or get past Edward Little goalie Eli St. Laurent.

Edward Little goalie Eli St. Laurent covers up the ball in front of the goal during Tuesday’s game against Lewiston at Lewiston High School. Emma Meserve photo

“It’s one of those games where (Edward Little) capitalized on their chances,” Gish said. “There was a little bit of miscommunication in our shape in the back (of our defense), a little bit of lack of communication to step up and block a shot. They had some good shots that went in, and we had some good opportunities that either hit the post or (St. Laurent) made a good save.”

Daud scored his first goal of the game midway through the first half, and Edward Little took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Max Thompson said that, due to the rain earlier in the day, the Red Eddies wanted to take their chances with long-ranged shots.

“We thought today, with the conditions being a little wet, it might be a little tricky handling the ball,” Thompson said. “We thought we should generate shots and see what happens. We don’t expect them to go in the back of the net always, but we wanted to put their goalie under some pressure.”

Humze Nur’s long strike got the Blue Devils on the board nine minutes into the second half to cut the deficit to one goal.

“My guys, they battled to the end,” Gish said. “They didn’t cave; they kept the pressure all the way up to the last second. They got that fight in them.”

Daud responded two minutes later with his second goal to extend the Red Eddies’ lead to 3-1.

Adow added a little more cushion later in the half when his chip shot squirted past Lewiston goalkeeper Payson Goyette (eight saves).

“Our goaltender (Eli St. Laurent) punted it out, and that’s an assist from the goalie,” Adow said. “The (Lewiston player) didn’t see me coming and I came from behind him, got (the ball), and tapped it in.”

The Blue Devils pushed hard to get back into the game. They had a few chances, including a shot that hit the post with about nine minutes to go in the game. They also tried through balls into the 18-yard box, but St. Laurent challenged most of the attempts and scooped up the ball.

St. Laurent made five saves for Edward Little.