KENNEBUNK — Leading 6-1 early in the second quarter, Tate Perkins and the rest of the undefeated and previously unchallenged Cape Elizabeth High boys’ lacrosse team probably didn’t think any late-game heroics would be needed Tuesday.

Turned out Kennebunk had other ideas. Led by strong faceoff work from Pat Gassman and multiple goals from Gassman and Donovan Connor, the Rams chipped away and forged a tie early in the fourth quarter on Camden Connor’s scoop in off a rebound.

Perkins, an unsung sophomore attack on a talent-laden roster, scored his third goal of the game with 7:20 to play and it held up as the winner in a 9-8 Class B victory.

“We got off to a really good start and then kind of took our foot off the gas pedal which we can’t do,” said Perkins, who led Cape with three goals and two assists. “You figured out the situation and realized we needed to step up pretty quick. We’ve won a lot and everyone wants to beat us so you get everyone’s best game. We can’t get complacent with where we are because nights like this happen and we were lucky to win.”

The defending Class B state champion Capers improved to 4-0. In their three previous games they had outscored opponents 42-18 and were coming off Saturday’s 10-0 win against a strong Scarborough team.

Kennebunk (1-3) looked like it was going to be another lopsided victim before Brenden Whitten scored late in the first quarter.

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“Once we got that first goal I think we realized that we could change the game around and faceoffs were going our way from the beginning and we realized from there on out we could control the game,” Gassman said.

In the second quarter Donovan Connor scored after being freed by a midfield pass from Boden Beveridge. Then, Beveridge deposited a transition tally from Donovan Connor, who had been set up by defender Jesse Lacasse’s long running clear.

When Gassman bounced a goal off the natural grass that glanced off Cape goalie Alex Narvaez with 1:32 left in the half, the Rams’ confidence was building and Cape’s lead was cut to 7-4 by halftime.

Goals from Gassman and Donovan Connor made it a one-goal game early in the third quarter.

Perkins scored his second goal to push Cape’s lead to 8-6 but Cameron Lovejoy, one of several freshmen to contribute to the Kennebunk effort, scored on another bouncing shot with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

Kennebunk Coach Dan Seavey said one key to the rally was getting his defense to shut down Cape’s close-range attack.

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“We were giving up a ton of goals right around the crease. We weren’t running our defense correctly,” Seavey said. “They came together in the second half.”

Kennebunk’s resurgence corresponded to Cape standout midfielder Connor Thoreck coming off the field with an apparent sprained ankle. He did not return to the game and left the field on crutches, “which considering how tough the kid is, probably isn’t a good sign,” Cape Coach Ben Raymond said.

Down the stretch, Cape Elizabeth had strong play from its defense, in particular Ben Ekedahl. Narvaez, who struggled early, made four key saves to preserve the lead, including a double-shin stop on Donovan Connor.

“We had some good defensive stops at the end which was nice and a couple of good ground balls at the end and we cleared the ball real well,” Raymond said.

CORRECTION: This story was updated at 10:40 a.m. on May 4 to correctly identify Kennebunk’s Donovan Connor and Camden Connor.


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