CAPE ELIZABETH — It was a game between a pair of defending state champions, and it played out exactly how you would expect that kind of matchup to play out.
Cape Elizabeth, the three-time defending Class A boys’ lacrosse champion, eked out an 11-10 win over defending Class B champ York in a game that went down to the final seconds Monday night at Hannaford Field.
“They’re so dominant,” said Cape Elizabeth senior Keegan Lathrop of York. “We knew it was going to be a tight one.”
Lathrop scored his fifth goal of the game to give the Capers an 11-9 lead with 3:13 to play. With 45.8 seconds left, Quinn Walenta scored his fifth goal to pull the Wildcats within one. York won the ensuing draw and called a timeout with 32.5 seconds left to set up a final chance to tie the game. While York got off a couple shots, neither was on net and the Capers (3-0) held on.
“We’ve got some offensive guys who have got some good chemistry. Cape played some pretty good (defense),” said Coach Billy McNamara of York (1-1).
The Wildcats came out flying, scoring the game’s first two goals in the first 1:17. First, Nick Hoy scored 38 seconds into the game. Then, with Cape’s Tom Hennessy serving a penalty, Walenta scored for a 2-0 lead.
“I never thought we were going to blow them out or anything, but I wasn’t shocked,” at the fast start, McNamara said.
It’s not often Cape is behind, much less by a pair of goals, but Lathrop said his team knew not to panic.
“I knew once we got the ball the offense would start rolling. I wasn’t too concerned but it was a little nerve-racking,” Lathrop said.
Goals by Lathrop, Hennessy and Aidan Connolly gave the Capers the lead. Walenta scored to make it 3-3 with 1:49 left in the first quarter, but Sam Cochran’s goal with 39:5 seconds left in the first gave Cape the lead for good.
Alex van Huystee’s goal at 10:13 of the third gave Cape a 6-3 lead, but York answered with goals from Walenta and Luke Douris in less than a minute to cut the deficit to one. A pair of Lathrop goals followed by a Cochran score pushed the Capers’ lead to 9-5.
Bobby Offit’s goal at 10:33 of the fourth gave Cape a four-goal cushion again, 10-6, but again York rallied. Douris’ second goal cut Cape’s lead to 10-9 with 5:53 to play.
“I think it just came down to a lot of little plays that we missed. We left our hearts and battled, but we made a lot of little mistakes that cost us. We’ve got to clean up the details,” McNamara said.
Evan Giacobba made eight saves for York. Michael Foley had six stops for the Capers.
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