APEX - By the time senior attacker Cawley Bromley scored her fourth goal Tuesday evening with 5:48 left in the first half, Apex’s girls lacrosse team had pushed its lead to 9-0 and controlled the game.

The Cougars couldn’t complete the shutout, but they did roll to a 16-4 victory against visiting East Chapel Hill.

“This was a game I expected to win,” Apex girls lacrosse coach Jenn Flaherty said. “I’m confident in my girls and believe when they play well we can beat anybody. We started a little slow, but we picked it up. And once we got into our quick transition and fast-paced offense we were in good shape.”

The Wildcats finally scored with 2:27 left in the first half to make it 9-1 Cougars. But their good fortune did not turn into any momentum. Apex answered just before the break to push its lead back to nine.

In the second half, East Chapel Hill tripled its offensive output from the first 25 minutes, but the Cougars had an answer every time. Junior Casey Nesbitt found the back of the net twice in the half, after not registering a goal or assist in the first half.

Nesbitt was one of five Apex players to score multiple goals. Seniors Katie McLaughlin, Katie Wagner and Kristi Marks each notched two, while junior Katie Burnet put three on the board. Wagner also added two assists.

Bromley led all scorers with five goals and tallied an assist late in the second half.

“My teammates are great at helping me get into position to score,” Bromley said. “And I use my teammates to create scoring opportunities. They set good picks and screens and when I see an opening I go for it.”

Apex was also solid defensively, especially in goal with senior Asia Moore protecting the net. Moore stopped five Wildcats’ shots in the first half and posted three more saves in the second.

“Asia’s awesome,” Flaherty said. “She watches releases well on every shot and has a great field sense. I put a lot of responsibility on her and she handles it well.”

With numerous girls headed to play lacrosse in college next year and three state championship trophies in the past four seasons, this year’s Apex team has one goal – another state title. And so far so good, the Cougars (4-0) have already beaten Wilmington Hoggard, who knocked them out of last year’s state playoffs, and defending state champion Charlotte Catholic.

“Last year was disappointing for us, because we didn’t win the state championship,” Bromley said. “So we definitely want to come back and stronger this year. We’ve had a tough schedule early in the season, but we’re playing well.”