By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Luca Jacobsen was tired.

“I was coughing up a lung out there,” exaggerated the Lewiston center, though still breathing hard 10 minutes after the game was over.

Understandable, though, was Jacobsen’s plight, having missed more than a week with an illness that prior to the game had coach Don Jalbert worried.

“She’s going to be winded,” Jalbert said. “She’s going to be huffing and puffing.”

Jacobsen was winded, but was also grinning from ear to ear after scoring three goals and adding two late assists to lead the Blue Devils to a 16-7 win over rival Edward Little at Central Maine Community College on Tuesday. The win evens Lewiston’s record at 2-2, something Jalbert knew was important after two tough, one-goal losses early in the season.

“We had had lapses in both games against Brunswick (an overtime loss) and Portland (a last-minute loss) where we’d played well,” said Jalbert. “After the way we finished in Portland, we were glad to get this one.”

Jacobsen, meanwhile, felt comfortable to be back in the lineup, and her presence helped throughout the game.

“It was a big game for me to get back into it physically,” said Jacobsen, “to get my head back into the game. This was a good game to do that.”

“Luca makes a difference with this team,” said Jalbert. “She can run well, and it’s one more stick in the lineup to help us out down low.”

And she didn’t waste any time, scoring the first goal of the game less than two minutes in. Kelsey Rodrigue, Mallory Long and Marina MacDonald followed as the Blue Devils sprinted out to a 4-0 lead. Beth Esponette scored with 10 minutes to play in the first half to give the Eddies some life, but that only sparked another Lewiston outburst.

Goals by Lea Chouinard, Kelsey Varney and Jacobsen in the following two minutes put the Blue Devils ahead 7-1.

“We played a good game, I thought,” said EL coach Jim Platz. “They have more depth than we do, that was obvious. They played well with their setups, feeders and cutters, and we were able to see what they were doing early and adjust during the break.”

Down 8-2 at the half, Edward Little (1-3) came out strong in the second, playing even with Lewiston for the first 15 minutes of the half. The score, though, climbed to 11-5, despite Red Eddies’ goals from Danny Martineau, Esponette and Bre Wing, and solid goaltending from Jojo Hughes.

“She played fantastic in net,” said Platz. She really came through in the second half.”

At one point, Hughes had saved eight of 10 Lewiston shots in the second half. She finished with 17 saves.

On the other side, Lewiston keeper Mary LeBlanc stopped eight shots before giving way to Tasha Tardiff late in the second half. Tardiff stopped three shots.

MacDonald finished with three goals for the Blue Devils, while Long also had three goals to go with one helper. Caitlin Anthoine, Chouinard and Varney each had two scores, while Kelsey Rodrigue also added a goal.