CAPE ELIZABETH — Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team came up big again Friday night, and this time the Capers only needed 48 minutes to secure a win over a quality opponent.

After winning three of their first five games in overtime, the Capers had a huge edge in possession, played lockdown defense and gradually pulled away from defending Class A North champion Falmouth en route to a 9-4 victory.

Archie McEvoy, Phil Tarling and freshman Colin Campbell each scored twice and Cape Elizabeth, ranked No. 1 in the Varsity Maine poll, improved to 6-0.

“The defense played really well and our offense worked fairly well,” said Capers Coach Ben Raymond. “I’m willing to bet we had double the amount of possession time than they had.”

The Yachtsmen, ranked No. 2 in the Varsity Maine poll, appeared on the right track when Macklin Williams scored 55 seconds into the contest, but Falmouth got just one more goal before halftime. An offensive flurry later in the first quarter gave Cape Elizabeth a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

In a 78-second span, Campbell, Nick Martin and McEvoy beat Falmouth goalie A.J. Noyes to make it 3-1. Then, in the final minute of the quarter, Tarling scored unassisted for a 4-1 lead.

“We’ve come out really slow the past couple games and we wanted to change that this game,” said Campbell.

Reilly Tucker snapped a nearly 12-minute scoring drought for Falmouth early in the second quarter, but McEvoy answered. The Yachtsmen appeared to score at the halftime horn, but the goal was waved off because of a crease violation.

When Iyendae St. Louis scored 39 seconds into the third quarter, the Yachtsmen were back within two, but Capers goalie Jack Dresser (six saves) denied Williams and Tommy Fitzgerald in succession, then Sam Dresser and Campbell countered for Cape Elizabeth to open up a 7-3 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

Falmouth’s comeback hopes were compromised when Fitzgerald suffered a knee injury that caused him to leave the game.

Goals from Tarling and Jackson Woods iced the victory.

St. Louis scored a late goal, but the Capers were able to celebrate a win over their rivals in the teams’ only scheduled meeting this spring.

“We practiced all week to double the ball in certain spots and it paid off tonight,” said Cape Elizabeth defenseman Andrew Carroll. “We really spun the ball well and got open looks.”

The Capers finished with a 27-17 edge in shots and allowed the Yachtsmen just 10 shots on frame.

Falmouth, which got six saves from Noyes, fell to 5-1.

“It may not look like it on the scoreboard, but I thought we played really good 6-on-6 defense tonight,” said Yachtsmen Coach Dave Barton. “The problem is, we didn’t play complementary lacrosse. You can’t play 75 percent of the game on defense and expect to generate any rhythm offensively.

“We just said in the huddle, ‘You either win or you learn.’ None of us set out to go 12-0. We have sights much higher than an undefeated regular-season record. We have our work cut out for us. We have to earn the opportunity to play (Cape) again.”