Cape Elizabeth sophomore Karli Chapin is mobbed by her teammates after scoring in the final second of overtime to beat York Wednesday, 9-8.

Joe Carpine / 365digitalphotography.com photos.

More photos below.

BOX SCORE

Cape Elizabeth 9 York 8 (OT)

Y- 6 2 0- 8
CE- 5 3 1- 9

First half
23:09 CE C. Chapin (Graham)
22:21 CE K. Chapin (Healy)
21:45 Y C. Reinertson (unassisted)
21:09 Y L. Reinertson (unassisted)
16:42 Y McCaddin (C. Reinertson)
15:12 C K. Chapin (unassisted)
13:53 Y C. Reinertson (unassisted)
12:30 Y L. Reinertson (free position)
3:21 CE Graham (T. McGrath)
1:39 CE K. Chapin (unassisted)
41.8 Y McCaddin (C. Reinertson)

Second half
20:01 CE A. McGrath (unassisted)
17:49 Y C. Reinertson (L. Reinertson)
15:36 Y L. Reinertson (C. Reinertson)
11:31 CE Healy (unassisted)
8:52 CE Graham (Healy)

Overtime
:0.5 CE K. Chapin (unassisted)

Goals:
Y- C. Reinertson, L. Reinertson 3, McCaddin 2
CE- K. Chapin 4, Graham 2, C. Chapin, Healy, A. McGrath 1

Assists:
Y- C. Reinertson, L. Reinertson 2, McCaddin 1
CE- Healy 2, Graham, T. McGrath 1

Draws (York, 14-5)
Y- McCaddin 14 of 19
CE- C. Chapin 5 of 15, K. Chapin 0 of 3, Harvey 0 of 1

Ground balls:
Y- 26
CE- 31

Turnovers:
Y- 17
CE- 14

Shots on goal:
Y- 20
CE- 19

Shots on cage:
Y- 14
CE- 18

Saves:
Y (Kiklis) 9
CE (Foley) 6

CAPE ELIZABETH—They couldn’t get possession, couldn’t take the lead and the conditions were absolutely miserable, but the Cape Elizabeth girls’ lacrosse team wasn’t about to let their long awaited regular season debut end in defeat.

Hosting York Wednesday afternoon amid a steady rainfall, the Capers needed more than 50 minutes to open with a victory, but it was certainly worth the wait.

Cape Elizabeth shot to a quick 2-0 lead behind goals from senior Chloe Chapin and sophomore Karli Chapin, but Wildcats junior Martha McCaddin won 10 consecutive draws and the visitors had possession for most of the remainder of the first half.

Goals from sophomore Cassie Reinertson and freshman Lila Reinertson tied the game before McCaddin scored to put York on top, 3-2.

After Karli Chapin brought the Capers even, Cassie Reinertson and Lila Reinertson gave the Wildcats a two-goal lead, but senior Susie Graham and Karli Chapin scored to tie it before a McCaddin goal in the final minute put York ahead, 6-5, at halftime.

Cape Elizabeth tied it again five minutes into the second half when freshman Addie McGrath scored her first varsity goal, but again, the Wildcats answered, as Cassie Reinertson gave them the lead and Lila Reinertson made it 8-6 with 15:36 to play.

The Capers again rose off the deck and got goals from senior Emily Healy and Graham to tie the contest again.

After York junior goalie Julianna Kiklis came up big down the stretch, the contest went to a three-minute, “sudden victory” overtime.

After the Wildcats had the first opportunity, but turned the ball over, the Capers transitioned to offense and just before time expired, with the clock showing 0.5 seconds to be precise, Karli Chapin produced the golden goal and Cape Elizabeth celebrated a 9-8 victory.

Karli Chapin led the way with four goals as the Capers opened the season with a victory for the second year in a row and handed York its second straight overtime defeat to start the campaign.

“We just stuck with it,” Karli Chapin said. “It was a big game of momentum and we had it at the end. We’ve had a really long preseason and we were ready for this game.”

Start of something special?

Cape Elizabeth made great strides a year ago, winning eight games, downing longtime nemesis Waynflete in the playoffs for the first time and reaching the Class B South semifinals before losing to eventual repeat state champion Kennebunk.

This spring, with a lot of firepower returning, the Capers expect to make a run at a Class B state title.

York, meanwhile, has been increasingly more competitive in recent seasons and nearly knocked off Waynflete in its opener, falling at home in overtime, 8-7.

Last spring, the Wildcats won, 7-6, at Cape Elizabeth.

Wednesday, with the temperature reading 47 degrees and the rain falling every more steadily, York looked to beat the Capers for the fourth year in a row, but instead, Cape Elizabeth downed the Wildcats for the first time since a 12-9 home win May 5, 2014.

It did take awhile.

Chloe Chapin won the opening draw and with 23:09 to go in the first half, she finished a feed from Graham to put the Capers on top.

Forty-eight seconds later, Karli Chapin scored for the first time, in transition off a pass from Healy for a 2-0 lead.

McCaddin then began dominating in the circle and York answered.

With 21:45 to play in the half, Cassie Reinertson scored unassisted.

Thirty-six seconds later, Lila Reinertson tied the game with an unassisted tally.

The Wildcats got their third consecutive tally with 16:42 remaining, as Cassie Reinertson set up McCaddin for a goal.

Cape Elizabeth finally got the ball back after a turnover and with 15:12 on the clock, Karli Chapin scored unassisted to make the score 3-3.

Again, York wrested the lead back, as Cassie Reinertson scored unassisted with 13:53 to go and 83 seconds later, Lila Reinertson’s free position goal made it 5-3 Wildcats.

After going nearly 12 minutes without a goal, the Capers got their offense going again with 3:21 to play, as off a free position, junior Tori McGrath got the ball in front to Graham, who beat Kiklis to cut the deficit to tone.

With 1:39 left, Karli Chapin’s unassisted goal tied the game for a third time, but with 41.8 seconds remaining, Cassie Reinertson set up McCaddin for a goal and a 6-5 York lead at the break.

The big story of the first half was McCaddin winning 10 of 12 draws, which helped the Wildcats enjoy a 14-7 shots advantage.

The scoring frequency diminished in the second half, but the intensity remained on both ends of the field.

With 20:01 left in regulation, Addie McGrath finished unassisted to tie it, 6-6.

York’s Reinertson sister tandem answered, as Cassie Reinertson finished a feed from her younger sister with 17:49 remaining to put the Wildcats back on top and with 15:36 to go, Cassie Reinertson set up Lila Reinertson for an 8-6 advantage.

Again, Cape Elizabeth answered.

With 11:31 to go, Healy scored an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to just one.

Then, with 8:52 left, Healy fed Graham for a contested shot that she managed to get past Kiklis to make the score 8-8.

Graham nearly put the Capers on top with 5:59 remaining, but Kiklis robbed her in front.

With 1:09 left, Karli Chapin had a great look, but Kiklis again came up big.

“Their goalie made some good saves,” Chapin said. “I had some good chances that she saved. I just forgot about it and kept going.”

With just 11.2 seconds remaining, Cape Elizabeth nearly gave the game away, as it turned the ball over in its own end and Lila Reinertson had a great look in front, but she shot high, sending the contest to overtime.

After a short break, the teams returned to the field knowing the next goal would end it.

“We just went out like it was the beginning of the game,” said Karli Chapin. “We were pumped up.”

McCaddin won the draw and York set up for a shot, but the Capers defense was solid and never allowed a look and the Wildcats eventually turned the ball over.

Cape Elizabeth then transitioned to offense, but also couldn’t generate a shot.

Until just before the clock expired.

As time wound down, the ball came to Karli Chapin to the right of Kiklis. With her coaches and teammates imploring her to go to goal, Chapin got a step on a defender, then fired a low shot which skidded past Kiklis.

The scoreboard clock read 0.5 and the Capers celebrated an exhilarating 9-8 victory.

“I heard people yelling and I looked at the clock and saw there wasn’t much time left, so I shot,” Chapin said. “The ground was wet, so I just tried to shoot it on the ground. It was a great feeling.”

“It wasn’t the play we wanted, but we got the ball to the player we wanted,” Cape Elizabeth coach Alex Spark said. “We got the shot we were looking for. She had the smarts to get her head up and she knew she had a 1-v-1 crease roll. She put the team on her shoulders which is exactly what I wanted. I couldn’t be more excited. The girls have worked so hard. We’re excited to come out with a win today.

“Overtime was new for my freshmen players. I couldn’t be more excited for how every girl handed the pressure. It was a beautiful ending, especially since it was our first game. When you’re faced with a tough last few minutes, that usually takes a lot of practice, but we got it in our first game.”

Karli Chapin had a game-high four goals and Graham added two, while Chloe Chapin, Healy and Addie McGrath each scored once.

Healy finished with two assists, while Graham and Tori McGrath each produced one.

Foley made six saves and got a lot of support from her defense.

“The draw was hard for us, but I think our defense played a really good game,” Karli Chapin said. “We had good slides and we were talking.”

“It was a game of draws,” Spark said. “We struggled in the first half, but our defense came up huge and our attack got the ball back. It was defense from all 12 players on the field. Both goalies made huge saves.”

Cape Elizabeth enjoyed a 31-26 edge in ground balls (Addie McGrath and senior Brooke Harvey each collected seven, while Karli Chapin and Healy had five apiece) had an 18-14 advantage in shots on frame and only committed 14 turnovers in 53 rain-filled minutes.

York got three goals apiece from Cassie Reinertson and Lila Reinertson. McCaddin had the other two goals.

Each Reinertson sister had two assists and McCaddin added one.

Kiklis made nine saves.

McCaddin had a game-high nine ground balls, while Cassie Reinertson came up with eight.

McCaddin won 14 of 19 draws, the Wildcats had a 20-19 edge in shots on goal and turned the ball over 17 times.

Weekend showdowns

The road gets no easier for either squad.

York is at Class A South contender Marshwood Friday, then returns home Wednesday of next week to face Freeport.

Cape Elizabeth remains home Saturday, but has to meet two-time defending Class B champion Kennebunk, which has beaten Greely and Falmouth by a combined 23-8 margin so far this spring. The Capers are hoping for a measure of revenge from last year’s playoff ouster.

“We have a really good chance this year,” said Karli Chapin. “We have good team chemistry and we have fun. We lost to Kennebunk last year, so we’re looking to get back at them for that.”

“We’ll take it one game at a time,” Spark said. “We see a great team every time out with our schedule. We’re a strong team and we’ll see a lot of strong teams. The girls will be hyped for Kennebunk. We’re excited. We love playing good teams and we love being tested.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Cape Elizabeth sophomore Karli Chapin and York junior Martha McCaddin take a draw.

Cape Elizabeth senior Chloe Chapin beats York junior goalie Julianna Kiklis for the game’s first score.

Cape Elizabeth junior goalie Erin Foley makes a save.

Cape Elizabeth sophomore Karli Chapin shoots as York senior Sydney Bouchard defends.

Cape Elizabeth senior Susie Graham scores a second half goal.

Cape Elizabeth sophomore Karli Chapin, left, is congratulated by sophomore Julia Thoreck after scoring the game-winner in overtime.