CAPE ELIZABETH — Senior Maggie Cochran wasn’t sure how far the Cape Elizabeth High girls’ soccer team could go this year. Now she and her teammates want to make this another very memorable season.
Cochran scored three goals Saturday afternoon as the top-ranked Capers defeated No.5 York 4-1 in a Class B South girls’ soccer semifinal at Hannaford Field. Her first goal came just 38 seconds into the game and established the tone very quickly.
“That was our No. 1 thing today,” said Cochran. “We know they’re a great team. They can put up a fight when it’s 1-0 or 0-0. So we knew we had to get that first goal.”
The Capers, who won the last two Class B state championships that were contested (there was no tournament in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic), will play second-ranked Yarmouth in the South B final at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Lewiston High. Cape Elizabeth (15-1) and Yarmouth split in the regular season, each winning on the road.
“I think we have a lot of pressure this year because we’ve lost a lot of great players,” said Cochran. “But we have a really, really good team. And I think since we’ve got to this place now, we know we have a really good team and we just want to win it now. That’s all we want.”
York finished 11-5-1, three of the losses to the Capers, losing twice in the regular season by the score of 1-0.
York Coach Nick Hanlon said Cochran “seems to be hitting on all cylinders. She’s coming back 20, 30 yards to play defense. She’s a player who is a difference maker, both her and Emily Supple. And that showed today. ”
“She’s a special player, a special talent,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Graham Forsyth, of Cochran. “She led by example today and her goals just capped off a really nice performance.”
Supple had Cape’s third goal of the game, with 11:29 remaining to seal it after York had pulled within a goal. The Wildcats came out strong in the second half and controlled play, pulling within 2-1 with 28:22 when Chloe Bourque scored on a direct kick from about 25 yards out.
Cape Elizabeth had controlled the first half, getting the goal just 38 seconds in from Cochran, then making it 2-0 with 24:02 left in the half.
On that one, CC Duryee had the ball in the lower left and pushed it to the front, where Cochran fought off a defender and tucked the ball inside the left post.
Forsyth said the fast start was needed. Cape’s goal each game is to score in the first five minutes.
“It’s never been as fast as 38 seconds,” he said. “It was quite the start. But it was definitely needed.”
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