BOX SCORE

Cape Elizabeth 10 Waynflete 4

W- 1 3- 4
CE- 7 3- 10

First half
18:32 CE Ryer (McDonald)
17:12 CE Ryer (free position)
16:03 CE Graham (free position)
12:08 CE Leiss (Johnson)
8:11 CE Strunk (Olsen)
7:58 CE Olsen (unassisted)
7:37 CE McDonald (unassisted)
18.2 W Connors (C. Bliss)

Second half
21:25 CE Ryer (unassisted)
20:31 W C. Bliss (Dinapoli)
10:24 CE Woods (Graham)
10:07 W Kelly (Earls)
8:09 W Friedland (free position)
3:01 CE McDonald (unassisted)

Goals:
W- C. Bliss, Connors, Friedland, Kelly 1
CE- Ryer 3, McDonald 2, Graham, Leiss, Olsen, Strunk, Woods 1

Assists:
W- C. Bliss, Dinapoli, Earls 1
CE- Graham, Johnson, McDonald, Olsen 1

Draws (Cape Elizabeth, 10-6)
W- Sherry 2 of 8, Connors 4 of 6, Millspaugh 0 of 2
CE- Ryer 8 of 11, McDonald 1 of 3, Leiss 1 of 2

Ground balls:
W- 25
CE- 38

Turnovers:
W- 17
CE- 15

Shots:
W- 13
CE- 24

Shots on cage:
W- 7
CE- 19

Saves:
W Girard) 9
CE (Woods) 0 (Branch) 3

PORTLAND—The old adage suggests that when the playoffs begin, every team is 0-0 and what they did during the regular season no longer matters.

No one exemplifies that more than the Cape Elizabeth girls’ lacrosse team, which will enter the postseason with the most misleading of records and rest assured that no one will want to meet the Capers with their season on the line.

Thursday afternoon at Hannaford Field, Cape Elizabeth hosted Waynflete in a regular season finale of two contenders and the Capers played a nearly perfect first half to seize control.

Senior Laura Ryer scored two quick goals and senior Charlotte Graham added another for a quick 3-0 lead and that advantage quickly grew to seven, thanks to goals from seniors Hannah Leiss, Tatum Strunk and Sami Olsen and another from junior Claire McDonald.

The Flyers finally got on the board late in the first half, courtesy junior standout Jesse Connors, but Ryer scored her third goal early in the second half.

After Waynflete freshman Cece Bliss and Cape Elizabeth freshman Kaity Woods traded goals, the Flyers made things interesting, as freshman Tilsley Kelly and senior Laney Friedland scored, but that’s as close as Waynflete would get and a late goal from McDonald allowed the Capers to close out a 10-4 victory.

Cape Elizabeth got goals from seven different players, finishing the regular season with a 3-9 record, ending the Flyers’ campaign at 7-5 and while they’ll be on the road for the playoffs, it’s safe to say the Capers are just getting started.

“We’re very excited,” Ryer said. “We hadn’t won in awhile. It feels good. We’ve worked hard and we really wanted to win our last regular season game and we made that happen.”

Here come the Capers

Cape Elizabeth started with a 13-12 setback at York, then fell at home to Kennebunk (13-2), Windham (13-3) and Yarmouth (9-3). After getting in the win column, 15-10, at Berwick Academy, the Capers lost at two-time reigning Class A champion Falmouth, 10-5, before breaking through with a 9-8 victory at Freeport. Consecutive 5-4 home losses to Lake Region and Massabesic (in overtime) followed. Last Friday, Cape Elizabeth lost at Yarmouth, 13-5, and Tuesday, it dropped a 12-6 decision at Greely.

Waynflete blanked visiting Fryeburg Academy to start the season, 14-0, then dropped a close 12-10 home decision to York before defeating visiting St. Dom’s, 14-3. After losing at home in a close game to Class B powerhouse Yarmouth, 8-5, the Flyers went to a Class A squad, Gorham, for a memorable back-and-forth contest, prevailing, 6-5, on Connors’ overtime goal. Next came a historic 7-4 home victory over Cheverus, which gave longtime coach Cathie Connors her 300th career win, and a 10-2 victory at Wells. Waynflete then lost at Freeport (9-6) and at Berwick Academy (11-10) before holding off host Lake Region (4-3) and visiting North Yarmouth Academy (5-4).

The teams last met June 6, 2019, in the Class B state quarterfinals, where Cape Elizabeth took its first step to a repeat championship with a 13-2 victory.

Waynflete once dominated the rivalry, taking 27 of 28 meetings between 2003 and 2016 (see sidebar, below), but Cape Elizabeth had captured the past five meetings.

Thursday, the Flyers looked for their first win in the series since April 14, 2016 (when Isabel Canning’s overtime goal produced an 8-7 victory) and Waynflete played the Capers tough, but Cape Elizabeth closed with an impressive, much-needed victory.

The Capers took the first shot, but Ryer sent it off the top of the crossbar.

Ryer then opened the scoring with 18:32 to play in the first half, finishing a feed from Claire McDonald, and beating Flyers junior goalie Emily Girard.

With 17:12 left in the half, Ryer earned a free position and converted it for a 2-0 lead.

With 16:03 to go, McDonald got her chance on a free position and she scored as well and with the game in danger of slipping away, Cathie Connors called timeout.

But it didn’t stem the tide.

After McDonald hit the post, senior Hannah Johnson set up Leiss for a goal with 12:08 on the clock.

Then, the Capers completely broke it open with three goals in just 34 seconds.

First, Olsen set up Strunk with 8:11 left in the half.

Then, 18 seconds later, after collecting a ground ball off the ensuing draw, Olsen raced in and scored.

Then, with 7:37 to go before the break, McDonald scored unassisted and Cape Elizabeth was in command, up, 7-0.

Cathie Connors then used her second and final timeout and Waynflete was able to finally settle in.

After Girard denied Ryer, Jesse Connors got the Flyers on the board with 18.2 seconds remaining before halftime, finishing a feed from Bliss to make it a 7-1 game at the break.

In the first 25 minutes, the Capers won 7 of 9 draws, had a commanding edge in ground balls and shots (13-2) and opened up a healthy lead.

Waynflete refused to go quietly in the second half, although it never seriously made things interesting.

Just 37 seconds into the half, Girard made a save on a shot from junior Paige Long and was shaken up on the play. She stayed in the game for the duration, however.

With 21:25 remaining, Ryer forced a turnover, scooped up the ground ball, then raced in and scored for an 8-1 advantage.

The Flyers answered 54 seconds later, as senior Claire Dinapoli set up Bliss, who beat junior Elise Branch, who replaced starting goalie, senior Cammie Wood, to start the half.

Branch then preserved the lead by robbing Jesse Connors after Connors raced up the field and past the defense before shooing to no avail.

With 10:24 left, Woods scored, from Graham, to make it 9-2, but Waynflete would answer.

A mere 17 seconds later, freshman Morgan Earls set up Kelly to get the goal back.

Then, with 8:09 remaining, Friedland beat Branch on a free position shot to cut the deficit to five.

The Flyers had chances to get even closer, but Jesse Connors was called for a false start on a free position (after having a goal waved off for a shooting space transgression), Kelly had a free position shot saved by Branch and Friedland was denied by Branch as well.

Then, with 3:01 on the clock, McDonald delivered the coup de grace, scoring unassisted, and Cape Elizabeth closed out its 10-4 victory.

“We played like a team,” Ryer said. “I love our balance. We never give up.”

“Every single one of the girls was excited,” said Spark. “That’s why I love to coach. Our fast start was great. I was able to get every single player in the game and every one got a touch on the ball. When you win and everybody gets to play and multiple girls score, it’s a team win and that’s the best.

“We love playing Waynflete. We’ve talked about it all week. They’re always so good and so well-coached. They battled back from behind. They have some kids with great stick skills, speed and fire on their shots.”

Ryer paced the Capers’ offense with three goals. McDonald added two goals, while Graham, Leiss, Olsen, Strunk and Woods each finished with one.

Graham, Johnson, McDonald and Olsen all had one assist.

Ryer also won 8 of 11 draws, helping Cape Elizabeth hold a 10-6 advantage in that category.

Branch made three saves.

The Capers had a 38-25 edge in ground balls (Graham collected a game-high eight, while Olsen and Ryer each grabbed six), a 24-13 advantage in shots (19-7 on cage) and overcame 15 turnovers.

Waynflete got one goal apiece from Bliss, Connors, Friedland and Kelly.

Bliss, Dinapoli and Earls had one assist each.

Girard made nine saves.

Connors had a team-high six ground balls.

The Flyers turned the ball over 17 times.

“They were more aggressive than we were,” Cathie Connors said. “We struggled early and had some turnovers. We made some changes, moved some things around and we played as a team and I saw some things that worked. Playing a tough team like that at the end will only help us.”

Win or go home

Both teams are excited about the upcoming postseason and while the Capers and Flyers won’t be the favorites in their respective regions, they believe they can make some noise.

Waynflete projects to be the No. 3 seed in Class C, which would mean a home state quarterfinal round matchup against Wells, Traip Academy or Fryeburg Academy June 12.

“It’s been an exciting season and I love that,” Cathie Connors said. “I feel like every game, we capitalized on things we worked on. In the tight games, we were able to pull it out in the last few minutes. Our defense is stepping up, our goalie is stepping up, we’re working on our transition. I like where we’re seeded. I think we have it in us to make a run. We’re psyched. Let the fun begin.”

Cape Elizabeth is likely going to be ranked ninth in Class B will take part in a state preliminary round contest next week, possibly at Cony.

“We’re ready for playoffs,” Ryer said. “I’m really excited. I think we’re the underdogs this year. Playoffs is a new game. We’ll play hard. We can’t give up on loose balls, we have to slide hard on defense and we can’t give up. As long as we can keep going, we’ll do really well.”

“Typically, our record is misleading at the end of our seasons,” Spark said. “The girls definitely have the energy for a playoff run. We’ll focus on one game at a time. Our season starts now. There’s no telling how it will go, but we’re very excited. You have to beat the best to be the best. We’re just excited to play another game.”

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

Recent Waynflete-Cape Elizabeth history

2019
@ Cape Elizabeth 13 Waynflete 3
Class B state quarterfinal
@ Cape Elizabeth 13 Waynflete 2

2018
Cape Elizabeth 16 @ Waynflete 6

2017
Cape Elizabeth 15 @ Waynflete 9
Class B South quarterfinal
@ Cape Elizabeth 10 Waynflete 6

2016
Waynflete 8 @ Cape Elizabeth 7 (OT)

2015
Waynflete 10 @ Cape Elizabeth 4
Western B quarterfinal
@ Waynflete 6 Cape Elizabeth 4

2014
@ Waynflete 6 Cape Elizabeth 5
Waynflete 10 @ Cape Elizabeth 5
Western B semifinals
Cape Elizabeth 9 @ Waynflete 8

2013
Waynflete 10 @ Cape Elizabeth 8
@ Waynflete 8 Cape Elizabeth 4
Western B Final
@ Waynflete 16 Cape Elizabeth 9

2012
Western B Final
Waynflete 11 @ Cape Elizabeth 10 (3 OT)

2011
Waynflete 13 @ Cape Elizabeth 6
Western B Final
@ Waynflete 8 Cape Elizabeth 7

2010
Waynflete 11 @ Cape Elizabeth 7

2009
Waynflete 11 @ Cape Elizabeth 2
Western B Final
@ Waynflete 9 Cape Elizabeth 5

2008
@ Waynflete 15 Cape Elizabeth 5
Waynflete 16 @ Cape Elizabeth 1
Western B semifinals
@ Waynflete 11 Cape Elizabeth 1

2007
Waynflete 18 @ Cape Elizabeth 7
@ Waynflete 15 Cape Elizabeth 7
Western B quarterfinals
@ Waynflete 13 Cape Elizabeth 3

2006
@ Waynflete 11 Cape Elizabeth 6
Waynflete 7 @ Cape Elizabeth 1

2005
@ Waynflete 11 Cape Elizabeth 6
@ Waynflete 11 Cape Elizabeth 5

2004
Waynflete 9 @ Cape Elizabeth 8 (OT)

2003
Waynflete 8 @ Cape Elizabeth 6
West Region semifinals
@ Waynflete 16 Cape Elizabeth 7

2002
Cape Elizabeth 10 @ Waynflete 9