CAPE ELIZABETH — Fourth-seeded Cape Elizabeth rode a dominant second-half performance Wednesday night to defeat fifth- ranked Waynflete 10-6 in a Class B South girls’ lacrosse quarterfinal at Hannaford Field.
The Capers (8-5) used a 7-1 surge in the second half to wipe out a 5-3 halftime deficit and secure their first playoff victory since 2014.
“All we said at halftime was, ‘Hey, wipe that score off – it’s 0-0,’ ” said Capers Coach Alex Spark. “We knew we needed to go out and play Cape lacrosse. We left it very simple.
“In the first half it was tough. We were turning the ball over and they were getting shots we didn’t want them to get. We’ve done a good job all season, when things aren’t going our way, of kind of just wiping it out and starting fresh.”
Cape Elizabeth advanced to the semifinals Saturday at top-ranked Kennebunk (10-2), which needed a last-minute goal to defeat the Capers 6-5 in a regular-season finale.
Cape Elizabeth freshman Karli Chapin sparked the second-half comeback with a goal and two assists, also securing several key groundballs on defense.
“It’s hard to keep track of everything she does,” said Spark. “She produces on defense, she wins the draw, she feeds assists and she scores goals. She’s an all-around player and she’s just a freshman.
Waynflete’s Ali Pope drives with the ball as Cape Elizabeth’s Chloe Chapin, left, and Casey Kelley try and slow her down.
“We have a few players who can do that but when we have one player who is really on, you can just see the body language of the other girls relax when the ball gets into her stick.”
Waynflete took a 5-3 halftime lead by closing on a 3-0 run.
Ali Pope and LZ Olney each scored twice in the first half, and Izzy Burdick added a free position goal for the Flyers.
The Capers, at home for a playoff game for the first time since Spark took over at the beginning of the 2016 season, got first-half goals from Chloe Chapin, Eleanor Roberts and Casey Kelley.
Susie Graham opened second-half scoring for Cape Elizabeth after nearly five minutes – a free position goal that cut the deficit to 5-4.
After missing a pair of shots, Cape Elizabeth tied it with 17:38 to go when Caroline Coburn scooped up a rebound and scored.
On its next possession, Waynflete regained a 6-5 lead when Kanha Stockford scored from a free position.
With 8:35 left, Emily Healy of Cape Elizabeth flashed some good stickwork in the offensive zone and made it 6-6.
Just 40 seconds later, the Capers took their first lead since midway through the first half when Healy scored from Karli Chapin.
The Capers then made it 8-6 with just over six minutes remaining when Chapin capped a lengthy offensive possession by drilling a shot into the top left corner.
Graham pushed the lead to three as the clock ticked to under four minutes to play. Chapin assisted after opening the middle with a run toward net.
Healy added the final goal with 58 seconds remaining.
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