CAPE ELIZABETH – Eighth-seeded Cape Elizabeth survived a lull after an early goal and went on to beat ninth-ranked Marshwood 2-1 in a Western Class A boys’ soccer prelim Saturday night at Hannaford Field.

The Capers (8-5-2) will play at top-ranked Gorham (12-0-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

After Griffin Thoreck scored off a free kick from 30 yards just 1:33 into the game, the Capers, who have six wins and a tie in their last seven outings, had trouble getting into the game.

“Obviously it’s great and you want to score an early goal all the time,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Ben Raymond, “but we kind of stopped playing the way we were trying to play.

“We defended pretty well but we just weren’t winning any of the first balls. Then we weren’t getting to many of the second balls and in the midfield we didn’t have a lot of possession.”

The letdown opened the door for the Hawks (8-6-1), who tied it midway through the half. Tobi Lamberts started the play when he carried the ball deep into the corner and sent a low cross in front. The pass found Alex McLean cutting toward the crease and his glancing shot made it 1-1.

It didn’t take long for the Capers to restore their lead. Six minutes later Cape was awarded a corner kick. Chad Peterson sent an arcing cross to the front of the goal where Eddie Galvin, up on the goal line from his defensive position, got a head on the ball for a 2-1 lead at the half.

“When we got on the board early we kind of sat back a little because we thought the game was over,” said Galvin. “When I got that header in, our team picked up and we started winning the first balls and I thought we controlled the tempo of the game from there on.”

The Capers had a chance early in the second half to up their advantage when Eli Breed sent a shot in on Matt Brenner. The ball momentarily slipped away but under pressure, the Marshwood keeper regained control.

“I thought it was one of those games that could have gone either way,” said Marshwood Coach Ben Deschene. “The difference was that they scored on two set pieces. We knew coming in that they scored on a lot of set pieces and we practiced on it, but we didn’t stop them.”