East Lyme — Mount Wally isn’t prone to many tremors anymore, a product of too many seasons and the perspective that comes with them.

But Paul “Wally” Christensen, all these years and wins later coaching soccer at East Lyme High School, showed a pretty good fastball Monday night. His senior, James Foster, appeared to get taken down in the box during a tie game early in the second half, generating a thunderous protest from Christensen, hat removed, points made to the official loudly and directly.

“I was yelling,” Christensen said later, “so the kids wouldn’t.”

And the irony came a minute later when the Vikings retained possession near the Norwich Free Academy goal because the ball hit one of the officials. Nick Ghirardi’s second goal of the game gave East Lyme a 2-1 lead during what would become an impressive 4-1 win over previously unbeaten NFA.

“I guess everything happens for a reason,” Foster said with a grin, following East Lyme’s most complete game — or at least second half — of the season.

Foster assisted on Ghirardi’s goals and scored two more, helping turn a recent loss to Bacon Academy into a more distant memory.

“Coming off the loss to Bacon, we got feisty,” Foster said. “After NFA’s win against Bacon (5-3 last week), we couldn’t imagine what kind of team they were this year. But every time we lose or tie, we learn from it. I’m so proud of the team tonight. It was ridiculous. An incredible morale boost.”

East Lyme (6-1) snapped a 1-1 tie at halftime, thanks mainly to Ghirardi and Foster, who aren’t merely ECC-good but good players period.

“Those two, when they play together like that, they’re unstoppable,” Christensen said. “They’re two of the best in the state. The way they read each other and make blind passes is really something. The second half was our best half all year. This was not a 4-1 game. NFA is a very good team and did a tremendous job in the first half. We held it together and then Nick and James took over the game.”

Santiago Manrique gave NFA (5-1) a 1-0 lead in the first half with a notable individual effort, maintaining possession of the ball through several defenders, before an accurate shot.

Ghirardi tied it late in the first half on a rebound, after Foster hit the post.

“We lost nine starters. We had a lot of holes to fill,” Christensen said. “Granted, it’s a little easier with James and Nick. But most of the kids hadn’t played in this type of environment before. It takes time for the team to come together. Tonight is the first time they played as a team. The further we go in the tournament, we’ll need to do that more and more.”

m.dimauro@theday.com

Twitter: @BCgenius