LEWISTON—When Cape Elizabeth’s girls’ soccer team had its 32-game win streak snapped by Yarmouth last month, the Capers’ season could have gone in one of two directions.

It could have spiraled, or it could have been a blessing in disguise.

It proved to be a blessing for the Capers.

And a curse for the Clippers.

Wednesday afternoon at Don Roux Field on the campus of Lewiston High School, the teams met again with a berth in the state game at stake and Cape Elizabeth continued its late-season surge.

At the expense of its rival.

The Capers were the aggressors from the get-go, but for most of the first half had nothing to show for it.

Until unheralded senior star Emily Supple took over.

With just 2:17 remaining before halftime, Supple struck a perfect shot that found the net and put Cape Elizabeth ahead to stay.

While Yarmouth was able to rally in its regular season victory, there would be no comeback this time, as senior Caroline Gentile set up Supple for some breathing room three minutes into the second half, then Supple completed her hat trick, heading home a beautiful feed from senior Penny Haydar with 26:45 to play.

The Clippers managed just two shots on frame and couldn’t answer and the Capers went on to a 3-0 victory.

Cape Elizabeth improved to 16-1, ended Yarmouth’s fine season at 15-2-1 and advanced to battle Hermon (17-0) in the Class B state final Saturday at 3 p.m., at Massabesic High School in Waterboro.

“This feels amazing,” said Supple, the Capers leading scorer this fall. “After our last loss, we just wanted to prove we’re the better team, so it’s a great feeling. We knew Yarmouth’s a great team and we had to take them seriously.”

A one and a two

Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth quickly separated themselves as the top two teams in Class B South this season and it’s no surprise that the Capers and Clippers were the last two standing in the postseason.

Yarmouth started the year with a 2-0 home setback to Cape Elizabeth, then hit its stride with victories over host Freeport (5-2), at home over York (3-0), at Greely (2-1), at Poland (9-0), at home over Fryeburg Academy (6-0) and at home over Lake Region (7-0). After settling for a 1-1 home tie against two-time reigning Class D champion North Yarmouth Academy, the Clippers blanked host Gray-New Gloucester, 3-0, then rallied to shock host Cape Elizabeth, 3-2, with three straight second half goals. After edging visiting Freeport, 3-2, in OT, Yarmouth closed by sandwiching shutout wins at York (1-0) and Wells (3-0) around a 5-1 home victory over Greely.

Yarmouth took care of No. 15 Poland in the preliminary round, 6-0, then blanked both No. 7 Freeport and No. 3 Medomak Valley by 1-0 margins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

As for the two-time reigning champion Capers, they started with a 2-0 victory at Yarmouth, then defeated visiting Wells, 3-1, blanked visiting Greely (3-0), host York (1-0), host Freeport (2-0) and visiting Waynflete (6-0) before conceding a goal in a 9-1 win at Lake Region. Cape Elizabeth then blanked host Poland (10-0) and visiting Fryeburg Academy (13-0) before letting a two-goal lead slip away in a shocking 3-2 home loss to Yarmouth, which ended a 32-game win streak.

A setback that all concerned said proved to be a necessary wakeup call.

“That was the best thing that could have happened to us,” said Supple. “We were getting overconfident.”

“I’d say that loss was the best thing to happen to us this year honestly because it pushed us and we knew what to do from there,” said senior standout and captain Maggie Cochran. “We were a team from there. Since we last played Yarmouth, our practices, our team bonding, everything we’ve done to get to this place has been incredible. We’ve become so close as a team. We have such a great team bond now.”

“We had a heart-to-heart after that loss,” added Cape Elizabeth coach Graham Forsyth. “We had said that’s probably what we needed. We were in a lull and going through the motions, knowing we could show up and rely on individual quality. It took that loss to wake us up. Losing a game like that snapped us out of it. Ever since then, we’ve been relentless and ruthless.”

The Capers regrouped and closed by shutting out host Greely (4-0), host Gray-New Gloucester (5-0), visiting York (1-0) and visiting Freeport (4-0).

After earning a bye into the quarterfinals, Cape Elizabeth ousted No. 8 Greely (5-0) in the quarterfinals, then beat No. 5 York (4-1) in Saturday’s semifinal round.

In the teams’ first meeting this year, way back on Sept. 2 in Yarmouth, Supple scored twice to give the Capers a 2-0 win.

In the second game, Oct. 5, host Cape Elizabeth seemingly took control behind goals from Supple and freshman C.C. Duryee, but back roared the Clippers on goals from sophomore Aine Powers, senior Katelyn D’Appolonia and junior Grace Lestage to prevail, 3-2.

The squads had met five previous times in the playoffs, with the winner going on to at least the state final on each occasion, with the Capers holding a 3-2 edge.

The first encounter came in the 2014 Western B semifinals, where Cape Elizabeth, then the reigning state champion, held on for a 1-0 victory. In 2016, title-bound Yarmouth prevailed, 3-1, in the Class B South semifinals. The following year, in the Class B South Final, it was the Clippers winning again, 1-0. The Capers returned the favor in the 2018 Class B South semifinals (2-1), then, in the most recent meeting, in the 2019 Class B South Final, Cape Elizabeth smothered Yarmouth, didn’t allow a shot and won, 3-0, before going on to win its second consecutive championship.

Wednesday, on a clear but chilly (46 degrees at the start) and increasingly windy afternoon, the Clippers simply had no answers for the potent Capers.

The Capers quickly let it be known that they would be controlling possession and the Clippers were content defending and hoping for a quick-strike goal the other way.

Yarmouth’s defense was most concerned with Cochran, who got into the box in the the ninth minute before having the ball knocked away. In the 17th minute, Cochran showed her ball skills, dribbling through the defense before lofting a shot which was saved by Yarmouth sophomore goalkeeper Regan Sullivan.

“Maggie’s incredible,” Supple said. “She’s obviously such a great player. She deals well with double-teams and that opens it up for other players. She finds other options.”

“Maggie’s work rate is effortless,” said Forsyth. “Having her on the field is a distraction because she’ll be double-teamed and open up space.”

After Supple was just wide with her first shot, the Clippers earned a corner kick midway through the half and D’Appolonia got her head on junior Macy Gilroy’s serve, but sent the ball wide.

After Supple spun and shot high with her left foot, senior Ellie Gagne and junior Piper Duryee had shots saved by Sullivan before Supple tried twice, but had each bid stopped by the keeper.

Yarmouth got a chance with 9:55 to go, as dangerous junior Ava Feeley lined up a free kick from 35 yards out, easily within her range, but Feeley sent the ball wide.

The Capers then returned to the attack, but Supple had a shot saved and sophomore Evelyn Agrodnia sent a free kick just over the crossbar.

But just when it appeared the Clippers would get to the break even, Cape Elizabeth struck and went on top for good.

With 2:17 remaining, Supple beat two defenders to a loose ball on the left side of the box, turned and ripped a shot that sailed over the outstretched hand of Sullivan and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It definitely felt good to score that first goal,” Supple said. “We were frustrated in the first half. We felt like we were creating chances but we weren’t finishing, so it felt good to get it done. I blacked out a little there. I just took a touch, turned, saw an open net and tried my best and got lucky with it. I had that good hit feeling for sure.”

“The first goal was really important,” Cochran said. “We got here and we were ready to go. And we wanted revenge. We knew if we got the first one, we’d keep going.”

“The goal before halftime settled us down,” added Forsyth. “You could see the girls were getting frustrated and making decisions they don’t normally make.”

“I think the girls executed what we were trying to do from a defensive standpoint pretty well in the first half, but holding Emily Supple or Maggie off the board is tough,” lamented Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins. “It’s just a matter of time. We did pretty well, but it was bend-but-don’t-break and they got us there at the end and we broke.”

The Capers had a 7-0 shots advantage in the first half, but knew the game was far from over.

“We knew Yarmouth wouldn’t give up and we had to keep working,” Supple said. “We had to finish it off.”

The Clippers got the first chance of the second half, a corner kick two minutes in, and Gilroy sent the ball to Feeley, who got a foot on it and lofted a high shot, but it was right at Cape Elizabeth senior goalkeeper Elise Branch, who snared the ball.

The Capers then quickly transitioned to offense and doubled their lead, as Gentile played the ball down the right side, then crossed it to Supple in front and Supple took one touch, then finished to make the score 2-0.

“That was a great ball in and I just had to finish it,” said Supple.

Yarmouth wasn’t fazed by being down two goals and looked to recreate its comeback magic, but Feeley missed wide and a shot from Lestage, the hero of the Clippers’ come-from-behind win earlier in the season, was saved by Branch.

After Cochran missed just wide, the Capers scored for the third time to put it away.

With 26:45 on the clock, Haydar played a perfect cross into the box and Supple, at the far post, just had to head it past Sullivan and into the net.

“I did nothing there, all credit to Penny,” said Supple. “That’s the most perfect ball I’ve ever seen. It came back post and I just had to get a piece of my body on it.”

“Emily is one of the best players I’ve ever seen,” said Cochran. “I’ve played with her since I was eight-years-old. I can’t play without her. People should know how incredible she is. She deserves everything.”

“Emily’s a great player,” added Forsyth. “She’s been in the shadow of Maggie for so many years. We had a talk during halftime of a game this year and I told her she has to get out of Maggie’s shadow and ever since then, she’s stepped up, led by example. To score three goals in a regional final against Yarmouth is probably the best memory she’ll have of playing in high school. She made the difference tonight. She deserves the limelight.”

To no one’s surprise, Yarmouth fought hard to the finish, but couldn’t break through, as D’Appolonia had a shot saved, Feeley had a free kick blocked and D’Appolonia set up Feeley for a shot which went just wide.

The Capers ran out the clock from there and at 5:27 p.m., celebrated a 3-0 victory, which gave them three straight Class B South titles.

“We learned from last time and we weren’t going to let them score this time,” Cochran said. “I forgot how good this feeling is. It’s amazing.”

“This means so much,” said Supple. “I’ve played with these girls my entire life. We’re excited to get a chance to win one more state title and end on a good note.”

“When it went to 2-nil tonight, that’s probably the most animated I’ve been, because (a comeback) wasn’t happening again,” Forsyth added. “Possession was probably 90-10. It was just a dominant performance. That comes back to the time Yarmouth turned it around against us. That spurred the girls on and it was great to watch. It’s probably the most complete performance we’ve had this year. The movement off the ball, the vision to see passes and composure to finish chances all came together. We were too slow in the build up in the first half. We dominated the ball, but we weren’t going anywhere with it. We had to break the first line of pressure, turn and take advantage of it. We did that twice in the second half.

“Personally for me, this is a special one. My first year these seniors were freshmen. There’s a chance that the senior class will go through high school and win three state championships. There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes this year and a lot of honest truths that had to be spoken. It’s not been a perfect year. I think from where we started to where we are now, we’re close to where we want to be and we just have to go do it one more time.”

The Capers finished with a 10-2 advantage in shots on frame and got two saves from Branch.

A great run

Yarmouth got seven saves from Sullivan and had a 2-1 edge in corner kicks, but couldn’t put the ball in the net for just the second time all year.

“This team was young and we were the underdogs and I’m so proud of how far we came,” said D’Appolonia. “We worked hard all season and the hard work paid off. We had an amazing season. We’ve been down before and we’ve come back. No matter the score, we keep pushing, but we couldn’t come back this time. Cape’s always been a good team with great players, Maggie and Emily especially, but the whole roster’s good.

“Cape’s a handful,” Higgins said. “They’re the team they’ve been for four years because of those kids and Graham is a fantastic coach. We knew they would pressure us and try to limit us from getting forward to our dangerous players. It became a challenge when we got the ball forward to Ava because the support was a little late getting there. It forced her to work incredibly hard to make something happen. If we stayed more connected, who knows.

“One game definitely doesn’t define our season. I think these guys took everybody connected to them on an amazing journey. They competed every day. They fought for each other. When the dust settles and the sour taste from tonight wears off, we’ll all be very proud of the season we put together. We heard in the preseason we were going to rebuild, but the kids had something to say about that.”

The Clippers have to say goodbye to not only D’Appolonia, who excelled all over the field, but also Lauren Dawes, Vada Harpool, Trinity Sinker and Brayden Woods-McNaboe.

“The five seniors are amazing people,” Higgins said. “The world will be a better place with them out there, but we’re really going to miss them. Katelyn did everything. She’s an unbelievable athlete. She’s probably one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever seen in my life and she’s an even better person. She’s going to be a tough one to replace.”

Yarmouth returns a ton of talent, however, and will likely be viewed as the team to beat when the 2022 campaign dawns.

“To see how the program has grown the past four years has been amazing and I can’t wait to see what they do next year,” said D’Appolonia. “I know they’ll do great things. I’m so excited to watch them.”

“Hopefully we use this moment and this feeling to guide us through the offseason and get better,” Higgins said. “It’s exciting to see what next year will bring.”

Eighty minutes to glory

Cape Elizabeth handled Hermon, 4-0, in the 2019 state final, the teams’ only prior matchup, to win the program’s eighth Gold Ball. Cochran scored three goals that day and now, as a senior, wants nothing more than to win one final championship before taking her talents to Northeastern University in Boston.

“We have two days to get there and in those two days, we’ll just do what we’ve done all season,” Cochran said.

“We’re just going to keep working hard,” Supple said. “We’ll go back to practice tomorrow and prepare.”

“We have to go out with the right attitude and play the game we want to play,” Forsyth added. “If the game’s frustrating, we have to stick to our principles. We’re a possession-based team and we have to create multiple opportunities and I’m sure we’ll have players step up.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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