CAPE ELIZABETH — The Falmouth High boys’ lacrosse team scored the final four goals and played shut-down defense to unseat top-seeded Cape Elizabeth, the three-time state champion, 7-5 in the Class B South regional final Wednesday night.

This was the eighth straight season Falmouth and Cape played in the regional final. Cape had won the last three en route to three state championships and had also beaten Falmouth twice this season, 11-9 and 13-5.

“I’ve come here since my freshman year in this game and every other time I’ve been on the other side,” Falmouth captain George Gilbert said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet but it’s special. We took pride in our defense. We were playing as a unit, not individuals. Everything was on point.”

Second-seeded Falmouth (11-4) returns to the Class B state final for the first time since back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, and will play Yarmouth (11-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Falmouth won at Yarmouth 12-7 in the regular season.

Cape Elizabeth (13-1) entered the game averaging 13.7 goals. Falmouth’s hounding man-to-man defense forced 22 of Cape’s 36 shots to miss the target. Falmouth goalie Liam Tucker made nine saves.

“The goalie made some saves and we didn’t shoot all that well,” Cape Elizabeth Coach Ben Raymond said. “Their defense played really well and made it difficult for us, and their offense did enough to score enough goals to win.”

“It was an entire defense,” Falmouth Coach Mike Lebel said. “They communicated, they had each other’s back and they played as a unit finally. They’ve been working hard at it all season and it just never seemed to click, and tonight it did.”

R.J. Sarka of Cape Elizabeth scored the game’s first two goals. Jack Scribner got the next two to forge the first of three ties. Tate Perkins (3 goals) gave Cape a 3-2 lead at the half. Scribner tied it with 5:36 left in the third, converting a fast- break chance from Devin Russell after Tucker denied a Sarka bid.

Perkins scored two man-advantage goals in a 45-second span to give Cape a 5-3 lead. The goals came after a Falmouth player was called for a cross-check to the head, drawing a two-minute locked-in penalty.

Falmouth killed off the final 1:06 of the penalty and Norris blasted a rising shot just over Cape goalie Alex Narvaez’s stick with 1:17 left in the quarter.

“The kids reacted much better than I did (to the penalty),” Lebel said. “They kept their heads. I was amazed a call like that was made. I didn’t agree with the call but that was the call and my kids, they kept their heads and they worked hard.”

Nick Farnham tied the game with a hard shot through a screen early in the fourth quarter. Falmouth took the lead when Devin Russell converted on a fast-break after a Cape turnover in its offensive end and a good clear by defender Seth Masciangelo.

Farnham scored again with 4:17 left when Narvaez (10 saves) was caught out of his net after a failed attempt to intercept a pass.

Cape was assessed a pair of two-minute penalties in the final 3:37 and was unable to threaten Falmouth’s lead.

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