WISCASSET — One kick was the difference in Monday’s Mountain Valley Conference boys soccer match between Lisbon High School and Wiscasset High School. That kick resulted in the match’s lone goal and huge 1-0 road win for the Greyhounds.

In the 28th minute, Lisbon goalkeeper Jonah Sautter launched a ball into the air and deep into Wiscasset territory from his own box. It bounced high off the pitch, missing a Wolverine defender and landing near two more. Problem was, Cam Poisson was there and ready to strike.

The sophomore touched the ball over the closest defender before winding up and hitting a full volley toward goal. The ball flew over the head of Wiscasset goalie Conlon Ranta and into the back of the net.

“I saw open space and I touched it up over the guy and I shot it,” Poisson said. “I didn’t know if it was going in or not, but I took the risk and it went in.”

“Cam, if you ask him, he knows he’s been struggling,” Lisbon coach Dan Sylvester said. “He creates a lot of opportunities and it was great to see him get that because he’s been frustrated with not putting the ball in the back of the net. Right place, right time, and that’s just the kind of character he is. He’s got a little speed in the back and he can finish when he wants to.”

The goal came after almost half-hour of bending but not breaking from the Wiscasset (2-2) defense, which gave up nine shots in the match. One of those shots, in the 24th minute, was heading for goal but was cleared off the line at the last second. Lisbon (3-0-1) controlled the possession early, earning a pair of corners and keeping Ranta on his heels.

“I think, for both teams, we kind of got a little bit long,” Sylvester said. “I think we have some pretty decent speed up top but we really wanted to keep the ball on the ground. But we were creating opportunities out of it, so it was working.”

Up and back

From the get-go, both sides used pace and through-balls to move the offense. Short passes in the midfield were passed up for long balls over the top of the back line, sometimes resulting in a chance, but usually resulting in start-over clearances.

Wiscasset’s struggle came in the final third.

“They played pretty well,” Wiscasset coach Chris Cossette said. “The final execution on the passing was just a little off. We were really focused on keeping things contained — control, pass, possession. We just had that one mishap, communication in the back.”

The Wolverines’ best chance of the night came on a free kick just outside the box in the 51st minute. The direct shot on frame bent near-post toward Sautter, but he caught the ball and cleared it away. Four minutes before that, two shots in the Lisbon box were blocked.

Of the host’s six total shots, just the free-kick was on net, with another chance bending over the crossbar from distance in 62nd minute.

Lisbon, which at times played six defenders, stopped many attacking sequences before they started. A few promising through-balls from the Wolverines were quickly swarmed and turned away with an extra man.

“Lisbon did a good job. They adapted and took a chance to pack it in on us,” Cossette said. “They played very defensive against our attack. They rolled the dice right tonight. With our backs to their front, they basically had a 3-on-1 matchup at all times.”

Four of the Greyhounds’ nine shots were on Ranta’s net, but a few more weren’t far away. It was a refreshing performance for Lisbon, which, after being shut out in the season opener against Moutain Valley, has now scored 10 goals in its last three fixtures.

All three have been on the road.

“To come here, night game against Wiscasset, who’s a very good club, that’s going to be worth some points down the road,” Sylvester said. “They’re very good — they’re deadly. This is huge for us. I think this is probably the best game we’ve played.”