LEWISTON — One quick goal early in the second half could easily have been a momentum changer Tuesday night.

Mt. Blue got that tying goal in the opening minutes, but Lewiston made sure its effects didn’t linger.

The Blue Devils produced the game-winner about four minutes later. That held up as Lewiston secured its third straight win with a 2-1 victory over the Cougars.

“I don’t think that stopped us very much,” said junior midfielder Alanna Taylor of Mt. Blue’s tying goal. “We wanted it. We wanted three wins in a row. We want to keep going because we’re not used to this.”

Taylor had both goals for Lewiston, including the winner just 5:11 into the second half. That came just minutes after Caitlin Kane had tied the game for the Cougars 1:13 into the half.

“They just didn’t quit,” Lewiston coach Brant Remington said. “We’re playing every game like it’s 0-0. Every minute of the game is 0-0. With that mentality, a team gets a goal, they fight back hard.”

It was a key game for both teams. Both clubs are in the Eastern A playoff chase and valuable Heal Points were at stake. The Lewiston win vaulted them into fourth in Eastern A. Mt. Blue dropped to seventh.

“It’s exciting,” Taylor said. “It’s awesome.”

Mt. Blue is 0-2-1 in its last three games, including a pair of one-goal losses. That’s after a 2-0-1 start.

“We changed our format a little bit,” said Mt. Blue coach Fred Conlogue of the second half Tuesday. “That helped some. In the first half, we looked a lot like we did in the Lawrence game when we lost 1-0. We played better in the second half. We changed some things up. It was definitely nice to get that quick goal. Some non-existent offense in the first half didn’t help.”

Kane snuck behind the defense and fired a quick shot past Lewiston keeper Kelsey St. Cyr to tie the game 1:13 into the second half.

“I think it surprised everybody how quickly she got through,” Remington said.

Mt. Blue didn’t have much time to seize on that momentum. Lewiston got a corner kick at the other end. Adela Kalilwa put the ball in the goalmouth. With Mt. Blue keeper Addie Schanz closer to the right post, that left Taylor space in front.

“I was like’If she’s not going to get in the middle, I might as well,'” Taylor said. “So I stood where she normally should stand. Then I saw it coming, and I just headed it in.”

Lewiston had some other chances in the second half to add to the lead. Mt. Blue defenders cleared the ball away from an open net on one opportunity. Kalilwa hit the post midway through the half.

Mt. Blue couldn’t get much going up front. Kane and Eryn Doiron produced some pressure, but the Cougars couldn’t get many quality shots on St. Cyr. The best chance came after Doiron had worked the ball around in the middle in traffic. That led to Jocelyn Daggett getting a point-blank shot that St. Cyr saved.

“Every time they would start to play it out of the back, we’d stop one,” Remington said. “The defense didn’t give up. Every time they played a through ball, they worked really hard to get it wide. Kelsey St. Cyr has been playing phenomenal the last three games. She’s playing with so much confidence.”

Lewiston came out strong from the start and outplayed the Cougars for much of the first half. Taylor got the first goal just 4:36 into the game. She had a shot from the outside sail to the top of the net.

“Getting that first goal, that just sets our mood for the whole game,” Taylor said.

Kalilwa and Kristina Blais had bids for the Blue Devils. Mt. Blue put some pressure on but couldn’t generate the kind of chances it needed. Late in the half and starting the second half, the Cougars began moving the ball a little better and making some connections. That led to some better scoring chances but not many.

“The first half, they really set the tone,” Conlogue said. “I thought with the tying goal, we’d get right back in it. We did play better. We learn from our mistakes hopefully.”

kmills@sunjournal.com