LEWISTON

Lewiston High School boys lacrosse goalie Tom Lepage has a pretty simple mantra:

“Keep it simple, stop the ball,” Lepage said. “That’s about it.”

Lepage was dazzling in the fourth quarter and overtime Wednesday, turning back 10 Brunswick shots in the game’s final 16 minutes to help lead the Blue Devils to a 9-8 victory over the Dragons.

“I definitely cannot take full responsibility for that at all,” a humble Lepage said. “I just tried to play my best.”

If there was a misstep to find in Lepage’s game Wednesday, it was a near-costly turnover in his own end in overtime. He played the ball, left his crease and then reentered his crease, a violation that turned the ball back over to Brunswick.

CAM GLOVER (4, top photo) of Brunswick carries the ball up the field past Lewiston’s Ty Murphy during a lacrosse game Wednesday at Bates College in Lewiston. The Blue Devils won, 9-8, in over time. In the bottom photo, Brunswick’s Ryan Croatti looks to pass around Lewiston’s Alberto Fragosa.

CAM GLOVER (4, top photo) of Brunswick carries the ball up the field past Lewiston’s Ty Murphy during a lacrosse game Wednesday at Bates College in Lewiston. The Blue Devils won, 9-8, in over time. In the bottom photo, Brunswick’s Ryan Croatti looks to pass around Lewiston’s Alberto Fragosa.

But again, the Dragons’ offense couldn’t beat Lepage and the rest of the Devils’ defense.

“They played really well on defense, and we were stagnant on offense,” Brunswick coach Don Glover said. “We weren’t dodging as hard as we normally do. We weren’t distributing the ball as well as we’ve done in the past. And their keeper played really well.”

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Lewiston regained possession after the turnover, pushed to midfield and called timeout.

Out of that stoppage, Max Bolduc took on three defenders, dodged his way into open space and fired a shot past Brunswick keeper Chris MrVichin with 15.5 seconds remaining, lifting Lewiston (7-2) to the win.

Bolduc was one of four Lewiston players to score Wednesday, with Tanner Hubbard leading the way with five.

“One of the things we’re preaching, it’s not one guy going out there and trying to dodge the opposing defenders,” Fournier said. “It is six-on-six, everybody gets involved, that’s what they did and it worked out in the end for us.”

The win avenges a 12-4 Lewiston loss to Brunswick early in the season.

“The guys are learning to play under a new system, new coaches,” Fournier said.

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“I’m excited for Lewiston. I know Ben very well,” Glover said. “We go way back to the point where he was playing against our team, so to see him develop the program and get it back up to very competitive lacrosse, very exciting lacrosse, that’s great.”

Glover’s squad had the advantage early. Two goals 46 seconds apart put the visitors in front in the first frame, both from Ryan Croatti. Reilly Bolduc and Shawn Gagnier popped in a goal each for Lewiston at the tail end of the first to even things back up only to watch as Brunswick’s Bailey Caparrato scored two of his own in the second to put the Dragons in front, 4-2, at the half.

“Honestly, in the first half, we did not execute things well,” Glover said. “The halftime speech was more, ‘think about your lacrosse and play well.’”

Hubbard took over the scoring in the third quarter, netting four of his five goals to give Lewiston its first lead, 6-5.

TJ Sullivan’s strike with 53 seconds left in the third tied the game as it headed to the fourth. Each team scored twice, and each led by a goal at one point in the fourth, but it was a Gagnier shot on a whiff by Hubbard that sent the game into extra time.

FOR MORE, see the Lewiston Sun Journal at www.sunjournal.com


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