BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford boys soccer team had a firecracker offense in its game against Cheverus on Thursday. The Tigers had their best chance of the game just 15 seconds into the first half, showed flashes during the rest of the half, then the offense disappeared during the second half of a 1-0 loss to the Stags at Waterhouse Field.

Bailey Fontaine got control of the ball just past midfield in the opening seconds of the game, then found Garrett Dube streaking up the left side. Dube put a shot on net inside the 18-yard box, but it just missed wide right.

The ball never got closer to going in for Biddeford, but the Tigers had more chances in the first half. Griffin Worrell had two shots go just off-target on breakaways three minutes apart early on. Worrell also had a nice feed from right to left to Fontaine, but Fontaine’s off-balance shot from the left corner of the six-yard box went wide right.

“He was just a little off-target today. He stretched the keeper,” Biddeford head coach Jeff Paquette said of Worrell. “It could have easily been 2- or 3-1 in the first half.”

The Stags also had plenty of chances, as the first half featured lots of back-and-forth play. But Biddeford goalkeeper Josh McCauley and the Tiger defense held Cheverus in check.

Or at least they did for the first 38 minutes of the game. The Tigers failed to get a clear near the right sideline, and Felix Delvecchio got the ball inside the 18. He then blasted a short-range shot past McCauley, who was left out to dry on the play.

“I thought in the first half we did the things we needed to do to get our opportunities. We didn’t finish, but that’s how sometimes it goes,” said “I feel as though in the first half we were the more dominant team. I really felt confident going into halftime.”

The same couldn’t be said about Biddeford in the second half, as the Stags got off to the hot start. Cheverus had three close calls in the first three minutes, and kept possession deep in the Biddeford end for much of the first 17 minutes of the half. The Stags had a couple of chances on corner kicks, and McCauley deflected away a point-blank shot by Charlie Mull on a breakaway eight minutes in.

“It was hard. We tried, and they just kept on coming back at us, and we weren’t getting the good touches that we needed,” Fontaine said.

The Tigers got their best chance of the second half 17 minutes in, as Fontaine put a direct kick from 45 yards out into the box, but no clean shot was put on Cheverus goalie Ben Peterson. Fontaine took another direct kick 10 minutes later from 35 yards out and hit it right to Peterson.

“He can definitely make things happen. And that’s what I was hoping for. I was hoping that we would get a spark, that something would come off it,” Paquette said of Fontaine. “I called his number today. He did everything in his power.”

McCauley kept it a one-goal game when he made a leaping one-handed save on a long shot by George Sawchuck just over a minute later.

The Tigers weren’t able to get the ball deep against the Cheverus defense as the minutes and seconds ticked down, and now find themselves 0-3.

Fontaine said he doesn’t think the team’s record accurately describes where the team stands this season, with two of the games being decided by one goal.

“We gave it our all, but it’s frustrating losing close games like that,” said Fontaine. “It’s the beginning of the season. We haven’t really gotten our momentum yet. We’ll go out there and surprise a few good teams that think they can beat us.”

Fontaine and the Tigers will get that chance to surprise a good team when they travel to Gorham on Saturday.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.