LEWISTON — The Lawrence Bulldogs’ offense centers around Hannah Sheperd. Saturday night, she was the eye of their storm.

The senior forward scored goals three different ways and added an assist as Lawrence defeated Lewiston 5-2 in a girls’ KVAC soccer match.

Sheperd headed in one goal, scored another on a blast from out in front and was successful on a penalty kick.

“She’s very skilled and talented,” said Lawrence coach Michael Hinckley-Gordon. “She’s one of my top nagivators.”

The Bulldogs (1-1-1) exploded for three goals in the first half and held a 15-5 advantage in shots in those 40 minutes of action.

Junior Lindsay Morris carried the ball down the right wing after collecting a pass from Sheperd. From 20 yards out, she blasted a shot over the head of Lewiston keeper Mackenzi Masselli (12 saves) for a 1-0 lead less than eight minutes into the match.

Sheperd added to the lead with 17:16 left in the half. Faith Forsythe teed up a corner kick and popped it to the far post. Sheperd out jumped a teammate along with a pair of Blue Devil defenders and beautifully headed the ball in.

Moments later, Sheperd protected the ball in the corner of the field to the left of the Blue Devil cage. She then dribbled the ball out of the corner past Lewiston’s Lauren Lessard before passing the ball along the end line to Ahlin Sungsuwan. Sungsuwan touched the ball ahead to Forsythe in front for an easy tap in goal.

“We get along well off the field,” said Sheperd, “and we talk a lot on the field. That’s why we play so well together.”

The Bulldogs pressed the offensive attack throughout the half and often had six players deep in Blue Devil territory.

“Everyone is trained to play multiple areas,” said Hinckley-Gordon. “We’re pretty fit.”

The initial half was a one-sided affair from start to finish and it did not go unnoticed on the Lewiston sideline.

“They played with more heart than us in the first half,” said Lewiston coach Butch Dow, who let his team know this in his halftime speech. “I think we took them lighter than we thought. They were winning more 50-50 balls. We lacked heart. Sometimes I have to pull it out of them.”

Dow’s halftime speech appeared to have been for naught as Forsythe and Sheperd collaborated for a quick score less than a minute into the half with Sheperd blasting a shot in from six yards out. Sheperd would later add a penalty kick for her hat trick.

But the remainder of the match was more evenly played as the Blue Devils (0-2) increased their intensity and netted a pair of goals.

Lewiston’s first score came on a penalty kick by Kayla Hamel. The second came with 1:20 to play when Sam Cote sent a pass ahead through to Maegan Mathon. The sophomore forward had slipped past the Lawrence defense and directed it past keeper Ashley Yahnel (eight saves) from in close.

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