APEX — The Apex High girls lacrosse team saw its 4-0 lead almost completely slip away in just over 2 minutes as Chapel Hill scored three straight goals, but the Lady Cougars didn’t panic.

Instead, they simply stepped the speed of the game up a notch.

With the game’s momentum hanging in the balance and Apex clinging to a 4-3 lead, the Lady Cougars struck quickly, scoring six consecutive goals in five minutes to take control en route to a 21-10 victory that put Apex back in the semifinals of the state playoffs on Tuesday.

“We just picked up the pace and the speed. We finally pulled it together,” said Apex senior Courtney McLaughlin, who scored six goals for the Lady Cougars, including four in Apex’s crucial first-half outburst. “I knew we could pull it out, it was just a matter of picking it up.”

After its 6-0 run to take momentum, the Lady Cougars added five more in the first half and six more in the second. Following Apex’s barrage of first-half goals, Chapel Hill wouldn’t get within six the rest of the way.

Along with McLaughlin’s six goals, the Lady Cougars were led by senior Sarah Fellows’ six goals. Sophomore Cawley Bromley added four goals, sophomore Kristi Marks chipped in two, and juniors Dana Feldner, Elizabeth Szep and sophomore Katie Wagner each scored one.

“That was our goal, to take away momentum,” said Apex coach Jessica Pinneo. “We were getting a little tired and we needed to push it and get it up to speed.”

And now the Lady Cougars stand one victory away from the state championship game.

“We need to play a full game and be able to slow it down and bring it up to speed,” Pinneo said.