While the Cape Elizabeth boys’ lacrosse team was able to advance to the state championship game, the school’s girls’ team and the defending Class A boys’ champion Scarborough weren’t as fortunate.

The Red Storm’s quest for a third Class A crown in four seasons was dashed emphatically by eventual champion Portland, 14-1.

The Capers, meanwhile, gave defending and eventual champ Waynflete a mighty scare before falling, 9-5.

No step short

Scarborough went 9-3 in the regular season, losing decisively to Portland, Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth, but handling everyone else. The Red Storm earned the No. 2 seed in Western A, then downed No. 7 Cheverus (12-1) and No. 6 Kennebunk (13-5) to advance to the regional final.

Back on May 8, Scarborough lost 12-1 at Portland, but hoped to be much closer in the teams’ third regional final showdown in four seasons. It wasn’t to be. The Red Storm got a goal from senior Danny Clark and 13 saves from senior Ryan Kane, but trailed 4-0 after one quarter and 8-0 at the half as they went down to a 14-1 defeat which ended their year at 11-4.

The Cape Elizabeth’s girls’ team’s experience was much different.

Cape Elizabeth went 7-5 in the regular season and earned the No. 3
seed in Western B. After winning 14-8 at No. 2 Wells, the Capers traveled to top-ranked Waynflete, the defending champion that was riding a 19-game winning streak.

The
teams had met four prior times in the postseason (with Waynflete
winning all four), including each of the past two years. In the 2007
quarterfinals, the Flyers were 13-3 winners. Last spring, in the
semifinals, Waynflete cruised, 11-1. Back on May 21, Waynflete won 11-2 at Cape Elizabeth.

Just about everyone expected the rematch to be over quickly. Everyone that is, but the Capers.

Just 16 seconds in, the Flyers hinted at another runaway when junior
Morgan Woodhouse won the draw, fed senior Mariah Monks, who passed to
classmate Ellie Cole, who set up junior Amy Allen for a goal and a
quick 1-0 lead. With 21:04 left in the first half, Monks fed
Allen for a second score and Waynflete appeared to be in good shape, up
2-0, but a minute later, the visitors got on the board when senior Nora Daly scored
unassisted. With 15:18 left in the first, Waynflete went up 3-1
on Allen’s third goal (unassisted), but again, the Capers answered when
senior Maggie Darling scored at the 13:14 mark to make it 3-2.

The
back-and-forth routine continued when Cole scored on a free position
with 7:47 to go in the half, but just 10 seconds later, sophomore Karyn Barrett (who
won the draw) raced in and fired a shot past Flyers junior goalie Sasha
Timpson (who starred for the Capers’ girls’ hockey team this winter) to
make it 4-3. With 4:05 left, Monks set up Cole for a goal while
the Flyers were playing with a man-advantage, but Waynflete wasn’t able
to extend its lead and with 1:24 to go, Barrett scored unassisted
again. The Flyers would get the final tally in the half when Cole set
up senior Anna Libby with 24 seconds left, but midway through, Cape
Elizabeth was very much alive, down just 6-4.

“I thought we did a
good job of pressuring the ball up top and didn’t let them get any easy
passes to their tall girls in the middle,” said Chapin. “We didn’t give
up too many free position goals and that kept us in the game.”

If
anyone thought the Capers were going away in the second half, that
expectation was quickly dispelled when Cape Elizabeth continued to make
life difficult at both ends of the field. When Barrett scored her third
goal, on a free position, with 15:48 to go, the champs were on the
ropes.

But Woodhouse gained control of the ensuing draw, set up Monks, and Monks scored to give her team a little breathing room. Still, the Capers had a chance, if only they could have gained possession.

An underrated part of Waynflete’s game is its ability to milk time when it has a lead and close out games.

The
Flyers killed the better part of four minutes before Libby scored on a
free position to make it 8-5. Then, Waynflete ran even more time off
the clock and left Cape Elizabeth frustrated and frantic before Cole
essentially iced it, scoring with 3:45 to go after a pass from Monks.

The Capers’ valiant effort wouldn’t be enough as they went down to a 9-5 defeat.

“We
wanted 25-30 shots on goal and we were on target in the first half, but
when they started to stall with 13 minutes left, it took us out of our
game plan,” Chapin lamented. “We had to press and that gave them the
opportunity to pull our defense out. They are too good of a passing
team to let them throw the ball around for 13 minutes.

“I was really proud of my girls. We preached all week that we thought we
could beat them and the girls finally started to believe. Had we tied
it up in the second half, who knows what could have happened?”

In
addition to Barrett’s three goals, Darling and Daly had one apiece.
Mowles stopped eight shots. Barrett also had a team-high nine ground
balls.

While disappointed,
the Capers had plenty to hail in 2009. They played well against the
toughest teams in the state and peaked in June.

“I was happy with
the season,” Chapin said. “When we started, I wasn’t sure how we would
do. We didn’t have a real star player and I was starting five
sophomores. The seniors stepped up and each filled the star role when
called upon. We had a lot of close games that we couldn’t finish.
Scarborough, NYA, Yarmouth and Kennebunk all were one- or two-goal
games.”

Cape Elizabeth graduates seven seniors, but the returning
players will look to build on this year’s experience and finish the job
next spring.

“I think the younger girls learned a lot from this
season and hopefully will be battle tested in the coming years,” Chapin
said. “Goalie will be a position we will need to fill. Our entire
defense will return, led by Maddie Spagnola and Paris Bethel. We will
return Anna Darling and Katie Lavallee at the midfield and Karyn
Barrett will return at the attack.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.