HAMPDEN — It was a perfect season with an imperfect ending.

Karli Chapin’s second goal of the game came in the 93rd minute, ending more than an hour and a half of frustration and lifting Cape Elizabeth to a 2-1 win over Presque Isle in the Class B girls’ soccer state championship game Saturday at Hampden Academy.

The Capers (18-0) won their seventh state title and first since 2013.

Freshman Maggie Cochran assisted on both Chapin goals. Her cross along the soggy turf from just outside the box snaked its way through the back line and onto the foot of Chapin, who had taken two steps away from goal to remain onside.

She turned her hips slightly, swung her right foot over the ball and got enough of it to tuck it inside the left post.

“I saw it went through two defenders and I just kind of tried to redirect it,” said Chapin, who didn’t get a solid hit. “I didn’t, no. It was scary.”

It was the 22nd goal of the season for Chapin and came on the Capers’ 37th shot of the game, 18 on target.

“It’s amazing,” Chapin said. “Obviously our goal at the end of the season was states. I’m just really proud of my team. We played well all through the season.”

That Cape had to find an overtime winner was testament to Presque Isle’s good fortune and the Capers’ lack of a finishing touch.

The Capers were impressive in the first half, piling up 17 shots, seven corners and four hit crossbars – three off Chapin’s head.

“We just missed that final product,” Cape Elizabeth Coach Graham Forsyth said. “One of my coaches back home said the only thing that’s unlucky is if it’s going top corner and a bird comes flying past. Unlucky doesn’t come into it. We just had an off day in front of goal.”

Chapin said it was easy to get frustrated in the first half, including Savannah Rodriguez’s 16 saves for Presque Isle (14-2-2).

“It was frustrating, but we were playing well and we were attacking,” Chapin said. “Our coach just said, ‘Keep your head up. It’s going to come.’

“You just have to be patient. Once you get the thought in your head (you’re not going to score), I think the game’s over. It’s important to stay positive.”

Chapin needed a tying goal in the 61st minute after Presque Isle scored four minutes after halftime.

The Wildcats took the lead through Clara Kohlbacher against the run of play. A rare restart opportunity for Presque Isle came near midfield off the foot of Allison Himes, whose wind-aided shot forced Cape keeper Elise Branch into action. Branch (four saves) dropped the ball along the goal line for Kohlbacher to punch home.

Chapin answered 12 minutes later, drifting in late on a Cochran cross from the right side to head it into the net.

“She just knows where to be,” Forsyth said of Chapin. “She’s one of those players that always seems to find herself in the right position.”

Related Stories