Cape boys cap perfect regular season with win at Scarborough

Cape Elizabeth senior Gus Huffard races up the field after winning a faceoff as Scarborough senior Ben Cassellius gives chase. Huffard scored to open the game as the Capers rolled, 16-5. Hoffer photos.

BOX SCORE

Cape Elizabeth 16 Scarborough 5

CE- 5 5 3 3- 16
S- 0 1 1 3- 5

First quarter
11:45 CE Huffard (unassisted)
11:18 CE T. Lathrop (unassisted)
6:03 CE T. Lathrop (unassisted)
4:05 CE K. Lathrop (Campbell)
44.8 CE McEvoy (unassisted) (MAN-UP)

Second quarter
11:42 CE Campbell (unassisted)
6:09 CE K. Lathrop (Campbell)
3:58 CE T. Lathrop (unassisted)
3:31 CE Frankwicz (Lee)
2:28 CE Lee (Campbell)
56.8 S Delaware (unassisted) (MAN-UP)

Third quarter
11:47 CE McEvoy (unassisted) (MAN-UP)
10:32 S Leadley (unassisted)
5:33 CE T. Lathrop (unassisted)
3:09 C K. Lathrop (Mullen) (MAN-DOWN)

Fourth quarter
11:03 CE Campbell (unassisted)
6:55 CE K. Lathrop (McEvoy)
6:45 CE McEvoy (Huffard)
5:22 S Baba (Leadley)
2:16 S Delaware (unassisted)
1:02 S Park (unassisted)

Goals:
CE- K. Lathrop, T. Lathrop 4, McEvoy 3, Campbell 2, Frankwicz, Huffard, Lee 1
S-Delaware 2, Baba, Leadley, Park 1

Assists:
CE- Campbell 3, Huffard, Lee, McEvoy, Mullen 1
S- Leadley 1

Faceoffs: (Cape Elizabeth, 15-9)
CE- Huffard 15 of 24
S- Carlista 8 of 19, Lancaster 1 of 3, Day 0 of 2

Ground balls:
CE- 30
S- 29

Turnovers:
CE- 14
S- 11

Shots:
CE- 33
S- 34

Shots on cage:
CE- 23
S- 15

Saves:
CE (Whitney) 10
S (Medeiros) 7

SCARBOROUGH—Cape Elizabeth’s juggernaut boys’ lacrosse team remains undefeated.

In fact, the Capers have yet to be seriously tested.

And Tuesday evening at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex, host Scarborough became the latest contender to learn that Cape Elizabeth isn’t just as good as advertisted.

But far better.

The Red Storm’s hopes of an upset were dashed in all of 15 seconds, as Capers senior Gus Huffard won the opening faceoff, raced in and scored and the fun was just beginning.

Junior Tiernan Lathrop, a matchup nightmare for the opposition, then added to the Cape Elizabeth lead with a pair of goals before freshman Keegan Lathrop and senior Archie McEvoy struck as well for a commanding 5-0 lead after one quarter, an advantage built in part behind six saves from senior goalie Charlie Whitney.

The Capers ended any remaining doubt in the second period, as junior Colin Campbell, Keegan Lathrop, Tiernan Lathrop, senior Oskar Frankwicz and junior Caden Lee all scored before the Red Storm finally got on the board a minute before the half when junior Tae Delaware broke the ice.

After McEvoy and Scarborough senior Owen Leadley traded goals to open the second half, Tiernan Lathrop and Keegan Lathrop scored to extend the lead to 13-2 after three quarters.

In the fourth, Campbell, Keegan Lathrop and McEvoy induced a mercy-rule running clock and while Red Storm senior Sebastien Baba, Delaware and junior Jeremiah Park scored late, it only helped cosmetically as Cape Elizabeth went on to an emphatic 16-5 victory.

Keegan Lathrop and Tiernan Lathrop led a balanced attack with four goals, McEvoy added three and the Capers capped their regular season with a perfect 12-0 record, dropping the resurgent Red Storm to 9-3 in the process.

“The kids, to their credit, have been really focused for all the games,” said longtime Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond, who now his 294 victories with the program. “We haven’t had a letdown. The seniors get everybody ready to play and focused and make sure we don’t take teams lightly. We take pride in being our best all the time.”

Chasing perfection, catching excellence

Cape Elizabeth entered the 2021 season highly touted and the Capers have simply dominated the opposition from the get-go, outscoring them by a composite margin of 183 goals to 42 entering play Tuesday.

After opening with an 18-7 home win over York, Cape Elizabeth dominated visiting Greely (17-2) and reigning Class B champion Yarmouth (18-3). After pulling away for a 22-10 victory at York, the Capers beat host Greely (14-4) and Yarmouth (15-1), handled visiting Freeport (21-3), then enjoyed a 17-2 victory at Thornton Academy, pulled away for a 14-5 home win over Falmouth, then defeated host South Portland (16-2) and visiting Kennebunk (11-3).

Scarborough, meanwhile, has returned to prominence this spring, opening with victories at Thornton Academy (8-6), at home over South Portland (18-7) and at Windham (12-6) and after losing in overtime at Falmouth, 10-9, bouncing right back with a 12-2 home victory over Kennebunk and a 14-7 win at South Portland. After a tough 4-3 home loss to Thornton Academy, Scarborough beat visiting Windham with ease (13-1), then earned a thrilling 6-5 overtime win at Berwick Academy, before edging visiting Falmouth on a late goal, 7-6, and holding off host Kennbunk, 7-4.

The Capers and Red Storm last played April 18, 2019, when Scarborough stunned everyone on hand by sending the game to overtime, but host Cape Elizabeth prevailed, 7-6, on Nick Martin’s game-winner. That win gave the Capers a 10-0 advantage in the series (with a 108-26 goal differential), dating to 2002 (see sidebar, below).

Tuesday, no extra time would be necessary, as Cape Elizabeth excelled from start to finish.

Huffard won the opening faceoff, scooped up the ground ball, raced into the offensive zone and when the defense didn’t challenge him, he shot past Scarborough senior goalie Josh Medeiros to set the tone.

“I won the ball and saw my opening and I thought I might as well try,” said Huffard, of his first goal of the season. “It felt super-nice to score. This was a big game, so to open the scoring was amazing.”

“That was amazing,” said Tiernan Lathrop. “Normally, (Gus) just tosses the ball off to me or a wing, but I loved seeing him go down and score. It set the energy for the game.”

“That was a great way to start the game,” Raymond added. “He’s worked really hard. It’s helped that (sophomore) Sebastian Moon has competed with him at practice and that’s forced Gus to improve.”

After Huffard won the ensuing faceoff, Tiernan Lathrop scored for the first time, finding room before beating Medeiros for a 2-0 lead with the game just 42 seconds old.

“My size helps to get by a defender and score when I need to,” Lathrop said.

The Red Storm then looked to answer, but Baba missed wide, Leadley had a shot saved by Whitney and Park hit the post.

With 6:03 to play in the first period, Tiernan Lathrop scored for the second time, finishing unassisted on the run, making it 3-0.

“Tiernan’s a big, strong athlete,” said Raymond. “He’s worked really hard on his lacrosse skills. He’s a hard shooter. If we can get him in transition, teams will have a hard time and we’ll be hard to stop. When it’s 6-v-6, teams can gear their slides more toward taking him away more. We’ve really focused on transition. We’re pretty comfortable where we are 6-v-6. If we can push more in transition, teams are really going to have a difficult time staying with us. It was nice to see transition goals.”

“We were surprised by (Tiernan) Lathrop,” said Scarborough coach Zach Barrett. “On film, he looks big and strong and fast, but when you see him on the field, you realize how much bigger, stronger and more athletic he is than most guys in high school lacrosse. At the beginning of the game, most of their goals were created by him and the mismatches he creates.”

Keegan Lathrop scored for the first time (from Campbell) with 4:05 on the clock, then Whitney stood tall, frustrating Scarborough by denying Baba and senior Will St. Germain while Leadley hit the post.

“Charlie made a bunch of saves that if he didn’t it would be a much closer game,” Raymond said. “He bailed the defense out. That’s what he’s supposed to do. I tell him he has the easiest job on the field, he only has to catch the ball when it comes to him.”

With just 44.8 seconds remaining, playing man-up, the Capers made it 5-0 as McEvoy scored his first goal, unassisted.

Cape Elizabeth junior Tiernan Lathrop, who scored four times, is defended by Scarborough junior Drew Lancaster in the first half.

After scoring 15 seconds into the first period, Cape Elizabeth struck 18 seconds into the second quarter, as Campbell scored unassisted.

The Capers went up, 7-0, with 6:09 left before halftime, as Campbell set up Keegan Lathrop on the doorstep.

With 3:58 to go, Tiernan Lathrop scored unassisted again after a nice stop-and-start move.

A mere 27 seconds later, Lee threw a nice feed to Frankwicz, who finished to make the score 9-0.

With 2:28 remaining, Lee was the on the scoring end of a goal, converting a pass from Campbell.

Finally, with 56.8 seconds showing, Delaware scored unassisted, man-up, after a nice move to get Scarborough on the board, but it was all Cape Elizabeth at the break, 10-1.

In the first half, Huffard won 10 of 13 faceoffs and the Capers held a 21-17 edge in shots.

Cape Elizabeth continued to start fast as the third period got under way, needing just 13 seconds to score again, as McEvoy scored unassisted, man-up.

Leadley answered, unassisted, with 10:32 to play in the quarter, but in transition, Tiernan Lathrop scored unassisted with 5:33 showing, then with 3:09 to go, playing man-down, the Capers took a 13-2 advantage as senior Nate Mullen set up Keegan Lathrop.

Cape Elizabeth needed a seemingly veritable eternity, 57 seconds, to score its first goal of the fourth period, as Campbell scored unassisted, to induce a mercy-rule running clock.

With 6:55 left, McEvoy set up Keegan Lathrop and just 10 seconds later, off another faceoff win, Huffard, who scored the game’s first goal, capped the scoring by feeding McEvoy for a 16-2 lead.

To its credit, Scarborough closed strong, as Leadley set up Baba for a goal with 5:22 remaining, Delaware scored unassisted with 2:16 to go, then Park scored unassisted with 1:02 on the clock.

It was far too little, too late, however, and the Capers closed out their 16-5 victory.

“We’re playing so well as a team,” said Huffard. “The communication has been great. Just watching from the sideline astounds me and when I’m on the field, it’s even more amazing.”

“We knew this would be a tough game,” Tiernan Lathrop said. “It was a fight, but we hit our shots and kept going. I knew we had talented guys who had been working hard in the offseason, especially during COVID, and all of us have been playing while other teams were sitting around, so we came into the season hot. We’re ready to get back (to the top).”

“You see six-minute spurts of unbelievable lacrosse,” Raymond added. “The ball moves, everybody touches it, four passes and someone stands alone at the backside for a goal and that’s what we should be striving for all the time. We have flat periods in the game and we’re trying to instill that we don’t want those flat periods.”

The offense featured four goals apiece from Keegan Lathrop and Tiernan Lathrop, three from McEvoy, two from Campbell and one apiece from Frankwicz, Huffard and Lee.

Campbell also had three assists, while Huffard, Lee, McEvoy and Mullen all had one.

Whitney made 10 saves.

The Capers held a 30-29 edge in ground balls (sophomore Nate Patterson had a game-high 11, while Huffard collected six), a 23-15 advantage in shots on cage and only turned the ball over 14 times.

Huffard won 15 of 24 faceoffs.

“Nate communicates a lot which is really helpful,” said Huffard. “I wouldn’t be as successful as I am without him.”

Scarborough got two goals from Delaware and one apiece from Baba, Leadley and Park.

Leadley had one assist.

Medeiros made seven saves.

Senior Alex Callahan had a team-high four ground balls.

The Red Storm had a 34-33 edge in total shots and only turned the ball over 11 times, but they were chasing from the get-go.

“It did not go the way we were hoping,” Barrett said. “Bottom line, they had better athletes tonight. That’s tough to overcome. We were close in shots. We didn’t hit the net, but we had our chances, so there’s some optimistic takeaways. I know the guys are disappointed. They expected a better result. They expected to match up better and play better, but Cape outplayed us and huge credit to them.”

Another meeting?

It’s possible the Capers and Red Storm could square off in the Class A South tournament, although that game likely wouldn’t come until at least the semifinals, if not the regional final.

Scarborough projects to be the fourth seed in the region.

“I think last year we hoped to have a good bounce-back season and those seniors were disappointed because they didn’t get a chance after working hard,” said Barrett. “The emotion from that just carried over and it’s been awesome. It’s a great group of guys. We’ve had great games. The guys want it bad. There’s nothing more I can ask for a coach than that. I appreciate where we’re at and what we’ve done this year. We’ve beaten everybody but Cape. Now the fun begins. We can go deep. It’s important we go as deep as we can and the guys feel proud about it. If we could see Cape again, mission accomplished. The guys would love that.

Despite its perfect record, Cape Elizabeth won’t be the top seed in Class A South and maybe not even number two, but the Capers (ranked third behind Berwick Academy and Gorham at press time) will be the decided favorite nonetheless.

“I think we’re ready to compete against anyone,” said Huffard. “We really want it. We have to keep working hard and stay focused and stay healthy. We can’t get cocky. We have to keep our eye on the prize.”

“We just have to fine-tune some things and just improve as a team so we can keep dominating,” Tiernan Lathrop said. “I think we’ve just got to stay committed. I know the other teams will come back strong at us because they all want redemption, so we have to stay focused.”

“We need to make sure we stay healthy,” Raymond added. “We need to make sure we fine-tune things on the offensive end and continue to communicate on defense. We’ve gotten so much better at that. It’s probably our most impressive defense if you look at scores. I don’t know about talent level on the field, but score-wise, it’s our most impressive team.

“We’re happy to play anywhere. We can’t get too wrapped up in Heal Points. We play the schedule we’re given and we try to beat everybody on the schedule. This is a special group of kids who have been committed to lacrosse for a long time. I start coaching them when they’re in kindergarten, first, second grade and their commitment level has grown. I think that’s the difference this year is appreciating what we have. Before last year, no one could appreciate how wonderful it is to come out every day and just play and they all really enjoy that.”