SANDPOINT — It was a tale of two halves for the Bulldog boys in their opener, jumping out early before holding on for a 3-2 win over 5A Lewiston in boys soccer action Friday at Pine St. Field, earning new head coach Evan McNeley his first win with the program.

The Bulldogs (1-0) came out with great energy, working the ball up the pitch early before Gage Sigman scored the season’s first goal on an assist from Christian Dressel just a minute into the game.

Noah Hastings finished a pass from Mac Stultz for a 2-0 lead just 10 minutes later, and it appeared the Bengals were in for a long day.

“The way we started the game was impressive. Traditional Sandpoint soccer, getting it wide and creating opportunities,” said McNeley, who wished to thank the grounds crew for having the Pine St. field in excellent condition. “We were moving the ball side to side, exactly our style. The energy was good, we came out with a lot of life.”

Cole Baillie scored in the 33rd minute off a feed from Zion Reichold, as all three first half goals came by way of assists. Julian Reichold spent the first half in goal, but was largely untested as the Bulldogs controlled possession.

The second half, however, was all Lewiston as the Bengals (0-1) scored a pair of goals, cutting the lead to one and making for a tense final 20 minutes. They created several strong looks, and if not for a diving stop from busy second half goalie Hyrum Hunsaker, the game could have ended in a tie.

The Bulldogs had trouble linking passes and maintaining possession, and got a talk after the game about playing more patient east-west soccer, and less north-south long balls.

“The second half was more frustrating. We went away from how we’ve been focusing on playing. As games progress, I hope we can seal things off with possession,” said McNeley, who knows there will be some early growing pains as players adjust to a new coach and style. “It will take time. All in all, it was a great start to the season.”

The Bulldogs are at Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday.

First half — 1, Spt, Gage Sigman (Christian Dressel), 1:00. 2, Spt, Noah Hastings (Mac Stultz), 11:00. 3, Spt, Cole Baillie (Zion Reichold), 33:00. Second half — 4, Lew, 50:00. 5, Lew, 60:00.

No shots on goal or save stats were available.