CAPE ELIZABETH — With shot after shot being turned away by Morse goalkeeper Marissa Parks, Cape Elizabeth realized it needed to try something unorthodox in its Class B South girls’ soccer quarterfinal Wednesday night.

A corner kick with just over nine minutes to go in the first half presented that opportunity, and the fourth-seeded Capers scored after keeping the ball on the ground instead of passing through the air.

The goal broke a scoreless tie and sent Cape Elizabeth on the way to a 3-0 victory against the fifth-ranked Shipbuilder.

The win pushed Cape Elizabeth into a semifinal Saturday at top-ranked Yarmouth.

On the corner kick, Riley Dall sent a rolling ball into the box and Mariah Deschino stepped over it, providing just enough of a decoy to freeze Parks. In the momentary pause, Karli Chapin redirected into the net to give the Capers (8-5-2) a 1-0 lead.

“Our coach reminded us that the goalie was really good in the air and to just keep the corner down,” said Chapin. “It was a great setup and just popped up at my feet in front of the goal.”

Added Cape Elizabeth Coach Craig Fannon: “When you have three or four chances, you just think it’s only going to be a matter of time. Then you look at the level of saves and all you can think is ‘where is it?’

“Their goalie had already turned away some really nice shots, and had come out and collected some corners. I’ve got to give an assist to my assistant coach, Andy (Strout). He spoke to (Dall) and told her to serve it on the ground. That goal was a total relief. You could see it settle us down.”

Cape Elizabeth made it 2-0 just under 10 minutes into the second half when Prezli Piscopo scooped up a loose ball just outside the box, dribbled past a defender and sent a drive past Parks’ outstretched hand.

Piscopo made it 3-0 with 4:29 remaining, using impressive footwork to slip past a pair of defenders for Morse (13-3).

After crossing into the top of the box on the left side, she unleashed a bending drive toward the top right corner of the net that proved unstoppable.

“You see it on the field, teams try to put three or four players around (Deschino) and we needed someone to help with that,” said Fannon. “(Piscopo) is someone who has had that pressure kind of land on her shoulders and she’s delivered on our biggest stages so far. She showed lovely combinations and finished with some really beautiful strikes.”

Parks was largely responsible for keeping the Shipbuilders in it, making some extremely difficult saves on her way to turning away 16 shots.

She also helped manage a Cape offense that piled up 10 corner kicks.

The Capers’ defense didn’t surrender a single shot.

“I genuinely think that might be the best goalkeeper performance I’ve ever seen in high school,” said Fannon. “We just couldn’t figure her out. She was just phenomenal.”

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