SOUTH PARIS – With three team members missing due to school functions, including offensive force Marina MacDonald, the Lewiston girls’ lacrosse team hoped to have enough players to fill the void while still containing Oxford Hills’ prime threat, Aimee McKeen.
Even a depleted Lewiston lineup was nearly impossible to stop at Gouin Field Thursday.
Mallory Long, Caitlin Anthoine and Luca Jacobsen had three goals each and and Kelsey Rodrigue chipped in with two to lead the Blue Devils to a 12-4 win over the Vikings. Mary LeBlanc made 12 stops for Lewiston (3-2), and Varney, Long, Jacobsen and Anthoine also added two assists each.
“There were two close games against (Oxford Hills) last year,” said Lewiston coach Don Jalbert. “I was pleased, very pleased, with the performance on both ends of the field. Lindsey Dostie marked (McKeen all night long and Luca did well covering (Brianna Thompson), too. We figured those were the two biggest threats against us.”
In a game against Mountain Valley last week, McKeen and Thompson scored 11 goals and added six assists in a lopsided win.
“They probably knew some of our better players and marked them pretty tight,” said Oxford Hills coach Ann Bell. “Our defense, too, was caught a little bit off-guard at first, but they picked it up later.”
Later proved to be too late, as Lewiston jumped on the Vikings (2-3) early, scoring three goals in the first 2:52 of play on strikes from Rodrigue and Anthoine (twice).
“A lot of the time, they got caught too far up,” said Rodrigue. “We were able to cut underneath them and get to the goal.”
Despite allowing an early McKeen tally, the Lewiston defense held for the remainder of the opening half as the offense piled up a 10-1 lead.
“We were a bit nervous about this game,” said Lewiston defender Lauren Ouellette. “Last year this was a tough game for us. We knew we had to step up and play well, especially on our marks on defense.”
LeBlanc held tough in the second half, facing several tough shots through the middle part of the half, including three or four low shots from McKeen that bounced off of her leg pads. The Blue Devils’ offense slowed things down as time wound down, and put just two shots past netminder Abby Pike, who replaced Anna Lee Jutras at the half.
“We thought against this team we’d have to do a bit more work, especially missing Marina (MacDonald),” said Jalbert. “Caitlin (Anthoine) stepped up on offense, though, and Mal Long is coming along well. She’s starting to push some of the seniors, to push them for time on offense, and she’s rising to the occasion, too. We’re very happy with this game today.”
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