CHRISTA CONFAIR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Warrior Run’s Braego Cieslukowski grabs a shot against Lewisburg during Monday’s game. The Green Dragons beat the Defenders, 1-0.

TURBOTVILLE — Despite controlling possession and shot opportunities for most of the game, it took nearly 70 minutes for Lewisburg boy’s soccer team to break through during Monday’s matchup against Warrior Run and take a 1-0 victory.

Even with the barrage of shots the Green Dragons were able to send towards Warrior Run senior goalkeeper Braego Cieslukowski, Lewisburg’s offense was held in check by a stout last line of defense from Warrior Run.

“Our guys just have to keep working on our timing. There were times when we’d make runs too early or too late and we just need to be on the same page,” Lewisburg head coach Ben Kettlewell said. “It was the first game of the year, so I can’t be disappointed playing against a good Warrior Run team and a great keeper.”

While Warrior Run sustained pressure and sniffed out the majority of Lewisburg’s attacks, the team was dealing with low numbers and tired legs towards the end of their season opener.

However, head coach Troy Emmert said he wouldn’t blame the loss on that alone.

“We are very short-handed, we have a ton of injuries and basically had no subs that were ready to play at this level tonight,” he said. “We’re not making excuses, Lewisburg is a great team, but I feel like we can play with them and move forward from here.”

Despite the injuries limiting the Defenders, Emmert was happy with the effort his team put forth on Monday.

“You have to want it, and the boys wanted it tonight,” Emmert said. “They played their hearts out and in the second half we had several opportunities to put the ball on net, but we just couldn’t capitalize.”

When the Defenders did generate offensive chances, the Green Dragons were all over them, with senior goalie Gabe Pawling leading the defensive scheme.

While he wasn’t asked to make a save at all during Monday’s match, he was a big part of the shutout.

“It really comes down to Pawling in goal,” Kettlewell said. “He talks the whole time and he keeps everyone where they’re supposed to be and moving around.

“But it starts with the fact that as soon as we lost the ball we were putting pressure on it and making them make the mistakes.”

Even with a little over 10 minutes left in the match, Lewisburg didn’t look tired. The Green Dragons continued to put shots on goal and generate corner kicks.

Finally, Isaac Ayres grabbed the ball and entered the box from the far side after getting in front of a defender. As Cieslukowski charged from the net, Ayres found the foot of the trailing Keegan Crosby, who put the ball in the bottom right corner and put Lewisburg on the board.

“They generally might have some frustrations when things don’t go their way, but they know that they can do it if they keep generating chances and stay together,” Kettlewell said. “It’s not just one guy, either, it’s just all of us continuing to play and being a little bit resilient.”

For both sides, the match served as a decent starting point for the rest of the season. Neither side was given an easy season-opener by playing each other, and the deadlock for the majority of the match was evidence.

“It’s not easy starting off the season with Warrior Run,” Kettlewell said. “But it’s definitely a good building block and confidence builder.”

Lewisburg 1, Warrior Run 0

L-Keegan Crosby (Isaac Ayres), 10:42.

Shots: L 12, WR 2. Corners: L 9, WR 2. Saves: L 0 (Gabe Pawling), WR 10 (Braego Cieslukowski).