CAPE ELIZABETH — No matter the deficit or situation, Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team is never finished.

The Yarmouth Clippers found that out the hard way Tuesday afternoon at Hannaford Field as Cape Elizabeth completed an improbable rally.

The Capers didn’t score the first 22 minutes of the game, went down, 6-2, in the third quarter and were still down by a goal with just seconds left.

But Nick Martin caught goalie Jack Dresser’s desperation heave and scored just before the horn to force overtime. Then Archie McEvoy found the net to give Cape Elizabeth an 8-7 victory, its third in a row to start the season.

“It’s definitely not the way we drew it up, but even though it happened in an odd way, I think the guys earned it,” said Capers Coach Ben Raymond.

Goals from Gavin Hamm and Ben Hamilton beat Jack Dresser to give the Clippers (1-1) a 2-0 lead after one quarter and Hamm added a pair of unassisted goals early in the second quarter.

That, combined with several clutch saves from Yarmouth goalie Spencer King, had the Capers on the ropes, but with 2:02 left in the first half, Sam Dresser finally scored for Cape Elizabeth and added a second goal to pull the Capers within 4-2 at the half.

The Clippers regained a four-goal lead in the third quarter as Anders Corey scored twice, but Phil Tarling and Sam Dresser answered to pull Cape Elizabeth back within two goals, 6-4, heading for the fourth quarter.

There, Connor Senger scored man-up goal early to make it 7-4 Yarmouth, but McEvoy and Sam Dresser answered to cut the deficit to one.

The Capers got a final opportunity in the final minute, but when King (16 saves) denied McEvoy with 15 seconds left, the Clippers appeared home free.

Instead, after King flung the ball deep down the field, Jack Dresser (six saves) caught it and threw it back toward the Yarmouth goal, where Martin alertly caught it and shot it past King with 0.6 seconds on the clock to tie the game.

“I knew Jack was going to throw it down the field, so I just tried to get in a spot where I could catch it,” said Martin. “I knew there was pretty much no time left, so I just turned and shot. I’m glad I got it off in time.”

Cape Elizabeth rode that momentum into overtime and with 1:35 to go in the four-minute, sudden death session, Tarling set up McEvoy for a shot that King couldn’t stop and the Capers celebrated.

“In regulation, I shot it high and coach told me I had to shoot it low, so I shot it low with a bounce,” said McEvoy. “It felt good.”

Yarmouth, which lost three times in overtime last spring, including in the Class B state semifinals, vowed to quickly shake off this setback.

“We’re a different team this year,” Clippers Coach David Pearl said. “This game exposed areas that we need to work on. I wish we could play them again tomorrow.”

Related Stories