LINCOLNVILLE — In a battle for first place on the Lincolnville pitch, the Lynx emerged victorious against a skilled and aggressive Camden-Rockport seventh grade team Tuesday, Oct. 8 by a score of 3-2.

The first half played very evenly, but Lincolnville nonetheless dominated the scoreboard despite a number of excellent tries by the Schooners.

It took the Lynx awhile to get started, but finally with 16:54 gone, midfielder Mason Clark sent a long clear up to striker Owen McManus who outran his coverage, curled in towards the net, and hammered home a fine shot inside the near post.

That was followed four minutes later again by McManus. This time midfielder Liam Day-Lynch fought for possession a few yards outside the Camden-Rockport box midway across the field, broke to his right and dribbled wide before breaking to the corner. From there, Day-Lynch crossed a lovely ball to a wide open McManus who had stationed himself near the far post allowing him to convert with relative ease.

The second half saw a dramatic turn around but not until after McManus completed his hat trick at 33:55. This time it was midfielder Nathan Oxley who sent a long clear that bounced over the Schooner defense. The alert McManus flew past the defense, chested the ball forward as he ran, established control of the ball on the fly, and drove in alone on the keeper before blasting it home.

The Schooners then staged a resurgence of epic proportions. A fair amount of the rest of the half was spent in the Lincolnville end, and far too many excellent tries were attempted for the comfort of the home team fans.

Finally, Camden-Rockport sent in two scores, one at 54:05 and the second with only four seconds left in the game, falling only just short of achieving a tie.

The Lynx defense of sweeper Roo Boetsch, stopper Hayden Clark, and wing defenders Canyon Palise and Chloe Day-Lynch had a fine day but definitely found themselves stretched and stressed as the game drew to a close. Jaden Johnson provided strong support at midfield, as did Clark, Liam Day-Lynch and Oxley.

Lincolnville goalkeeper Avery Luft had his best game of the season, keeping the Lynx in the game with a number of excellent saves.

By nailing down first place, the Lynx guarantee themselves home field advantage in the playoffs.

Additionally, they earned a bye for the preliminary round of the playoffs giving them a week to prepare to meet the challenge of postseason play beginning Thursday, Oct. 17.

Ben Edes is the coach of the Lincolnville soccer team. 

Reach the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.