SEARSPORT — The Lincolnville Lynx started the season on a positive note Monday, Sept. 9 by defeating Searsport 4-0 on the road on a cool, cloudy day.

The teams started off reasonably evenly matched although Lincolnville was able to establish a clear possession advantage from the beginning of the game.

As a result, it took the Lynx a while to get untracked with their first tally coming at the 19:07 mark when midfielder Mason Clark corralled the ball in the box, broke out past the Searsport forwards, drove the tight sideline past the Vikings’ midfielders all the way into the offensive end, and centered to striker Owen McManus who one touched the ball past the keeper.

It only took one minute and 31 seconds more before the second goal was recorded. This came unassisted from winger Jaden Johnson who gained possession on the right, dribbled center, cut through the defense, and nailed a short, sharp shot to the back of the net.

Searsport staged a rally towards the end of the half forcing keeper Avery Luft to make several alert saves to preserved the shutout.

Lincolnville opened the scoring in the second half with 38:57 gone when Luft, now playing sweeper, sent a long pass up to McManus who controlled the ball and sent it out to the right to Johnson. She beat one defender with a dribble before sending a cross right to the foot of an open Mikayla Talbot — playing the opposite wing — who had found a hole in the defense on the far side of the goal. Talbot calmly tipped the ball into the open net.

Clark added an unassisted goal to his assist at 48:38 when he snagged the ball just outside the box and drove through the defense. As he emerged in the clear, he found a sliding keeper coming at him and quickly chipped the ball up, over, and into the net.

Roo Boetsch, playing keeper during the second half, shared the shutout honors with Luft, and Liam Day-Lynch, Chloe Day-Lynch, and Canyon Palise along with various other substitutes provided the necessary defensive skills to support the keepers’ efforts.

Even more impressive than the score, however, was the enthusiasm that the entire team brought to the game, which is likely to stand them in good stead as they continue throughout the season.

Ben Edes is the head coach of the Lincolnville Lynx soccer team. 

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