WATERBORO — In baseball, it takes a few games into the season for offenses to get going. The same can be said for the Sanford and Massabesic field hockey teams after their season opener Wednesday. The Spartans were finally able to break the ice with less than a minute left in the first half and that lone goal stood in a 1-0 victory at Massabesic High School.

The Spartans (1-0) got the opening hit and controlled possession for the first couple minutes. Then the Mustangs (0-1) pushed possession in their favor, but weren’t able to push the ball close enough to the goal to sniff any scoring chances. Massabesic kept the ball in Sanford’s offensive end for much of the first half but wasn’t able to get a shot on goal until 11 minutes left in the opening half.

Sanford’s defense had a hand in keeping its own goal clear.

“They had their sticks down and they got some good sweeps outside when they needed to,” Sanford head coach Diana Walker said of her defense, which also did a good job of communicating, according to Walker.

The Spartans went on the counterattack when they were able to get the ball out of their own zone, and actually out-shot Massabesic in the first half. But Sanford was also stymied, thanks to a stellar effort from Mustangs goalie Kelley Wescott.

But Wescott made one mistake in the game, a mistake Massabesic head coach Michele Martin-Moore said every goalie makes once in a game, as she was off-balance making a kick save and Kyleigh Cote was there to put the rebound in the open goal with 18 seconds left in the first half.

“It’s huge,” Walker said of getting the first goal. “But you can’t sit on it.”

Sanford had another surge of possession to start the second half, but the Mustangs pushed momentum in their direction as the half wore on. The precipice of that came midway through the period when Massabesic received four straight penalty corners, and nearly scored on the third attempt. The fourth and final opportunity was quickly cleared and the Mustangs didn’t get as close again.

“Almost. Almost,” said Martin-Moore. “You know, you can’t win almost, but they’ll start falling, they will. It’s the first game of the season; we can’t let that get us down.”

Walker said it was a nerve-wracking sequence for her, as her team hadn’t practiced defending penalty corners much yet in the season, but her defense was up to the task – as it was all game.

Sanford goalie Amber Singleton stopped eight shots and back Payton Orino made a defensive save of her own. Wescott made 11 saves on 12 shots for Massabesic.

“This is always a big win,” said Walker. “Sometimes these early games are the ones that determine the Heal Points, because Massabesic is going to be right up there for points. It’s going to be a big win for us.”

Martin-Moore said she was pleased with her team’s effort in defeat, and said that Sanford was its toughest competition so far.

“This is a good yardstick. We measured where we are. This is a high level of competition and we played toeto toe,” said Martin-Moore. “Take off (18) seconds in the first half and it’s 0-0 and we’re playing overtime. What more can you ask from a team? Lots of building from that. Lots of positives.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.