WINTHROP – There was a time when a win, any win, would have been welcomed by the Livermore Falls boys’ soccer team. Now the Andies are coming to expect such success.

After a 3-1 win over Winthrop Wednesday, Livermore Falls improved to 4-1 on the season. Coming off a 7-6-2 effort last year, the Andies had hopes of picking up where they left off and progressing even further.

“Any win is a good win,” said Livermore Falls coach Larry Thornton. “It’s better than what it was.”

Jake Marceau scored all three goals, and Markus Ryder made some crucial saves in goal to lift the Andies to their first win over the Ramblers.

“It’s a real relief after the past years,” said Marceau, a senior forward. “We started off freshman and sophomore years 0-24-4. So coming out with this, we’re liking it.”

The Andies dominated Winthrop in the early going but had to fight off the Ramblers in the second half before a Marceau goal with 11:39 left sealed the win.

Winthrop had to finish the game without coach Greg Ruby. The first-year coach was ejected with 28:27 left in the game. He argued a non-call and was given a yellow card. He followed that by throwing his hat, earning a red card and ejection. It was the second time in less than a week Ruby has been ejected. He served a one-game suspension by missing Monday’s game at Mt. Abram.

Winthrop athletic director Eric Turner was unsure whether a second ejection would warrant more severe punishment.

“I need to find out if there is a new punishment for multiple (ejections),” Turner said.

Livermore Falls outshot the Ramblers 11-2 in the opening half but had just a 2-1 lead. Marceau and Caleb Baron each had early chances to bury headers but either hit the post or put it over the net.

“We’ve got to bury our chances every single game,” said Thornton. “We missed opportunities against Dirigo, and we missed opportunities tonight. We’ve missed opportunities every game. “

Marceau made it 1-0 with 26:08 left in the half when he converted a Matt Cotnoir cross, but Winthrop answered just over two minutes later. Forrest Dwyer snuck behind the defense for an open shot.

The Andies retook the lead with 16:18 left in the half when Marceau outran a defender and put a shot in off the right post.

“After their goal, we stopped what we were doing and thought about it and went back to what worked,” said Marceau. “We started to not play our soccer. We played their soccer. We just had to get back to what we do.”

Ryder preserved the lead with a diving save on Tim Gingras late in the half.

In the second half, after Ruby was ejected, the Ramblers produced their best effort. Gingras had numerous opportunities, but Ryder was there to make the stops.

Though Ryan Michaud played well in net for Winthrop, Marceau finally got the insurance tally with a shot from the right side off a Tom Ventrella pass.

“They did pick it up,” said Marceau. “They came out in the second half ready to play. We expected it. We’re a team that won’t give up, and we had to try to score no matter what.”