CAPE ELIZABETH — Sarah O’Connor scored as third-seeded Cape Elizabeth beat No. 11 Gray-New Gloucester 1-0 in a Class B South girls’ soccer quarterfinal on Tuesday.
O’Connor scored on a direct free kick just over 10 minutes into the second half.
“We were kind of debating who would take (the free kick),” she said. “I didn’t really feel that confident about it but I turned and looked at (assistant coach Andy Strout) and he nodded and was like, ‘Yeah, you got this.'”
And Strout was right. O’Connor buried the free kick in the right corner.
“I saw the wall. They had, I think two in front of me. There was room to the right and I like to go to the right. So, I curved it around the wall and into the right corner,” said O’Connor.
The Capers (11-4) were awarded the free kick after a handball foul committed by the Patriots (7-7-2) deep in their defensive end.
“It could’ve been on any number of chances but thankfully Sarah stuck one in the top corner,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Craig Fannon.
Cape Elizabeth dominated ball control and had possession in the offensive end an overwhelming majority of the game.
Despite Cape Elizabeth’s control, the game was scoreless at the half.
“It’s a funny game, really. The more it goes at nil-nil, the more you worry about the counterattack and that one that goes against you.
“I’ve been on both sides of it. I’ve been that team that’s defended and snuck a game, and I’ve been that team that’s dominated the game and not won,” said Fannon.
The Capers outshot the Patriots 33-7, including 15-1 in the first half.
“As many chances (as Cape Elizabeth) had, they didn’t really have any clear-cut chances. Their goal was the result of a great, great finish on a free kick,” said Gray-New Gloucester Coach Kiaran McCormack.
The Patriots were able to make some halftime adjustments that allowed for more time on attack and a couple of scoring chances.
“(We) added a more offensive shape to the formation we had,” McCormack said. “That helped us to generate a little bit more attack.”
Gray-New Gloucester goalkeeper Jennifer Sutherland was tremendous in net, making 13 saves.
“(Sutherland) has really had a great season. This is her first year as the starting goalkeeper, which a lot of people don’t know, but she put a lot of time in the offseason into her game and she really has progressed,” said McCormack.
“This isn’t the first game she’s come up big for us.”
Gray-New Gloucester came in after pulling off a 6-1 upset over sixth-seeded Mountain Valley in the preliminary round.
Cape Elizabeth is riding a five-game winning streak, which includes four shutouts.
The Capers have outscored opponents 15-2 over that stretch.
Tessa Goldstein made three saves for Cape Elizabeth, which will play at No. 2 York in a Class B South semifinal on Saturday.
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