Lewiston and Mt. Ararat players exchange handshakes after the Blue Devils beat the Eagles 2-1 on Thursday in Topsham. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

TOPSHAM — Tegra Mbele has not lost a step since he last donned a Lewiston kit, nor has he lost his touch.

After multiple first-half breaks were stifled by the Mt. Ararat defense, the senior forward netted a second-half goal to help secure a 2-1 victory for the Blue Devils over their Class A North rivals in Thursday evening’s season opener.

Lewiston (1-0) opened the scoring early in the second half with a strong 25-yard strike by senior midfielder Annimer Ibrahim in the 45th minute. Mbele, who scored the deciding goal in the 2023 Class A championship victory over Deering, was assisted by Dan Dimandya on a 57th-minute break past the Mt. Ararat (0-1) defense.

After a first half in which both teams traded an abundance of deep advances into opposing territory but only mustered two shots on goal each, the Blue Devils went into halftime trying to figure out how to break through a steady backline.

“We just decided we were holding the ball a little too much,” Lewiston head coach Dan Gish said. “We were trying to create a little too much, and we needed to play with less touches. I mean (our) guys obviously have the technical ability to dribble, but, defensively, you’re not going to dribble through (Mt. Ararat).”

The second half opened similarly to the first with physical play near midfield, until Lewiston broke free with its speed and quick passes, setting Ibrahim up for the one-touch strike.

“One of my teammates, Fernando (Bengue), just passed it across to me, and I looked up,” Ibrahim said. “Seeing the keeper wasn’t standing straight, I shot it, it went in.”

Throughout the match, Mt. Ararat tried setting up their forwards with cross-field passes, but most were either too powerful or deflected away by Lewiston. The pressure was still noticed by Blue Devils.

“It’s dangerous every time they get across midfield,” Gish said. “We have to treat it like a set play, and they’re very good at it. I was impressed about how we maintained our composure.”

A yellow card by Lewiston’s Nathan Dimandya in the 72nd minute set up a long free kick by Mt. Ararat’s Luke McLaughlin. The pass was initially blocked away by Lewiston, but senior defender Ethan Berry regrouped the ball and sent a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box through traffic into the back of the net to put the Eagles on the board.

The goal rejuvenated the Mt. Ararat offense, which increased the pressure on Lewiston’s back line for the final minutes, but the Blue Devils held strong and secured the 2-1 victory.

“I think after we gave up the second goal, energy level went down a little bit and we just started kicking,” Mt. Ararat head coach Jack Rioux said. “But once we started passing the ball, moving that around, we were able to get some quality looks, we were able to get a goal.”

Berry and McLaughlin both noted the second-half dip, but they were proud that they were able to still contend late, especially their one-on-one defense, which prevented Mbele from scoring on two more opportunities.

“I thought we played well the first half,” McLaughlin said. “The second half, we let up on a counter goal — I mean they had four shots all game. We could’ve done better attacking, but I thought we had a good game. Unlucky, but we’ll get them next time.”

Rioux agreed with the defensive analysis.

“It’s great to see that when our defense is back, we’re organized, we can kind of keep them out,” Rioux said. “But they’re relentless. They’re going come at you for 80 minutes. You make one little slip up …

“I’m proud of the effort. A lot of guys had to log some big minutes tonight. It showed that some of the work they put in in the offseason paid off a little bit tonight. The score doesn’t show it, but it’s definitely something we can build on.”

Brady Yazwinski finished his first career start in goal for Mt. Ararat with four saves, often venturing outside the goalie box to secure possession. Lewiston’s Will Diamond-Stanic finished with three.

Both teams have things they want to work on before their second games next Tuesday. For Rioux, it’s possession quality; for Berry it’s team communication; for Mbele it’s finishing. But as McLaughlin reminded his team as the final horn blew, the season has just begun.

“I think we have 13 games left,” McLaughlin said when asked about how the first result impacts the rest of the season. “I’m ready to go.”

Lewiston thinks similarly.

“We’re not rushing into the next game,” Ibrahim said. “We are just focusing on one game (at a time).”

“We’re ready for anything,” Mbele said through teammate and interpreter Fernando Bengue.