AUBURN – These days there is a little extra incentive when the Edward Little girls’ soccer team gets to the field.

“We just want to add to our record,” said junior midfielder Elizabeth Esponnette. “We don’t want to mess it up. We want to stay undefeated. That’s motivation for us to keep it going and keep our momentum.”

EL (4-0-1) entered Thursday’s matchup with Morse unbeaten and kept its winning ways going with a 1-0 victory. Lindsey Visbaras scored midway through the first half, and EL’s defense and goaltender Brittney French posted its third shutout of the season.

“I can’t remember it happening since I’ve been here,” said Visbaras of the Red Eddies unbeaten start. “It’s a good thing, and it’s a bad thing because other teams look at the record and realize they have to come out and play their hardest, but it’s great to be where we are.”

The only blemish on EL’s record was a 1-1 tie with Brunswick, still a pretty favorable accomplishment for the Red Eddies.

“We lost to Brunswick last year 5-0 and to actually tie them this year is amazing,” said Esponnette.

A noticeable difference in this year’s club is its experience and ability to work together. EL has a solid defense returning and the chemistry has been a positive.

“It’s more a team than a bunch of individual players,” said EL coach Tom Grossman., whose club went 8-6-2 overall last year and lost in the Eastern A quarterfinals. “They work hard, and they have good attitudes. They’ve been playing that way since the preseason.”

Against Morse (2-2-1) Thursday, EL produced another steady game. After taking the early lead, the Red Eddies saw a more determined effort by the Shipbuilders in the second half but kept them off the board.

“This team is having a hard time trying to find out how to come together as a team,” said Morse coach Bill Eberhart. “That’s what we need to work on. We got beat to the ball. They wanted it more than we did. They certainly deserved the win.”

Visbaras produced the game-winner with 19:02 left in the first half. She had numerous chances early, but when a pass from the midfield sent her in alone, the Shipbuilder defense couldn’t keep pace. She outraced a defender and fired a shot past keeper Sarah Clukey.

“Their defense is really flat, and we were trying to get the ball through and run on to it,” said Visbaras, who has four goals this season. “We just had to watch the offsides.”

Morse picked up the pace in the second half but couldn’t muster many threatening shots. The best bid came 1:46 into the half when Jenise Lucas had a redirection in front. French sprawled and got a hand on it to preserve the lead. From there, the EL defense, anchored by veteran Rachel Barlion, gave the Shipbuilders little opportunity.

“Our girls in the back are playing much better,” said Grossman. “We had to move some girls around. Rachel and Brittney are the core leaders in the back and Liz (Langelier) and Ashley Pepin are doing great jobs on the outside.”