JAY — The Spruce Mountain Phoenix kept the Cape Elizabeth Capers running.

In the second half of the Western Class B field hockey semifinals, the No.2 seed Phoenix pulled away with a 4-0 victory.

“That’s what we have been doing all year, we like to run and we like to pass,” said Spruce Mountain Phoenix co-coach Jane DiPompo said. “We like to keep the other team on defense, and if we can keep them running, we can wear them down and hopefully poke one in every few minutes like we did today.”

Nicole Hamblin struck first for Spruce Mountain (15-0-1) late in the first half as the No. 3-seeded Capers controlled the play for most of the half.

It wasn’t the homecoming Cape Elizabeth head coach Darci Holland was looking for as she played for nearby Dirigo from 1996-2000.

“Jane was the coach for Jay (High School) when I was I playing,” Darci Holland said. “I was hoping I was going to beat her this year, but she had a really decent team.”

Spruce went on the attack early in the second half when they quickly two goals. Ladesta Tracy scored the first of two in the half while a few minutes later Kayla Meserve put the Phoenix up 3-0.

“We often said we like second half explosions, and we have been fighting all year to keep home field,” said DiPompo. “Home-field advantage in the tournament is huge.”

Lack of communication for the Capers led to the two goals.

“We had some very crucial marking breakdowns, defensively” Holland said. “You can’t do that with a team like Spruce Mountain.”

After a Cape Elizabeth (11-5-0) timeout, the Capers found some life offensively, but Kasey Richards made a couple of key saves for the Phoenix. The first one was on a breakaway where she challenged the Cape Elizabeth shooter and kicked the ball out of harm’s way.

Later in the half Richards made a key stop on a penalty corner.

“Kasey made a few sliding tackles that took (Cape Elizabeth) out of contention to put in a rebound at key times,”  DiPompo added.

Both DiPompo and fellow co-coach Julia Parker were impressed with the play of defenders Katelyn Gervais and Elizabeth Chretien who both made key plays in the second half.

Tracy added her second goal late in the game to cap the contest off.

Parker said Tracy is a good all around player with her loose ball and passing skills.

Spruce Mountain will travel down to Thornton Academy on Tuesday to face the No. 1 seed York Wildcats (16-0-0) who defeated the Leavitt Hornets 2-1 in penalty strokes in the other semifinal. It will be the first time this season the two teams will face each other. Time of the game hasn’t been determined.

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