Waterford — Steph deLaforcade, creator of so many opportunities, was headed to the goal one final time in double overtime Saturday night, East Lyme High School's annual ALS Cup game against rival Waterford at stake.

She was certain she didn't have the right angle for a shot. But that's when deLaforcade heard senior teammate Katie Christiansen's voice.

“She called for the ball and that's when I knew she had it,” deLaforcade said. “I knew she knew what she was doing.”

Christiansen angled the ball just high enough into the right corner to elude Waterford goalie Jordan Kovacs, as the East Lyme girls' soccer team edged the Lancers 1-0 on Christiansen's “golden goal” just 1 minute, 25 seconds into the second 10-minute overtime.

East Lyme (4-0) outshot Waterford 17-3, with deLaforcade firing corner kick after corner kick into the penalty area both from the left and the right sides, fussing over the exact patch of artificial turf for each kick, as if to tee up the ball.

Kovacs, a junior who has started since her freshman season when the Lancers won the Class M state championship, responded with 16 saves. Waterford is 3-1 following the loss to the Vikings.

Both teams played Friday, with Waterford coming from behind to top St. Bernard 2-1 and East Lyme blanking Bacon Academy 5-0. In that game, deLaforcade, a junior forward, had a role in each one of the Vikings' goals, registering a goal and four assists.

“We gave her too free of a shot,” Waterford coach Chris Ghiglia said of Christiansen's game-winner. “I'm so proud of the kids. We had to play yesterday and today we were minus two starters at the last minute.

“We were very flat yesterday. St. Bernard played well and we were flat. Today, now, I'm very proud.”

Waterford played a more defensive set than usual, with three center backs instead of two, he said, something the Lancers hadn't practiced, but merely walked through Saturday afternoon. It worked for the bulk of the game, as seemingly every East Lyme scoring chance was deflected by someone or other in a white jersey.

“Waterford did an awesome job on defense,” East Lyme coach Rachel Redding said. “Waterford's defense was frustrating because we're not used to seeing that many bodies in the box. He had nine in the box. … The girls never gave up. They had to figure it out.”

Waterford had perhaps its best scoring opportunity with 4:05 remaining in regulation, when all-state forward Claire Hurley was awarded a free kick from the left sideline. Her shot sailed on a line over the East Lyme wall and headed toward the upper left-hand corner of the net, where first-year goalie Hayley Sorrentino stretched full length and punched the ball over the crossbar for the save.

“Jordan had a good game, too, but that was the toughest save of the game,” Ghiglia said, crediting Sorrentino.

East Lyme had the final shot in regulation, by Haley Ashton with 1:15 to go, directing a free kick on goal where it was saved by Kovacs.

“Going into overtime, it made us a little nervous, but we know how to come back. We know how to pick ourselves up,” deLaforcade said. “… (This season has) been almost like a new beginning, but the bond between us is great.”

East Lyme, which finished last season 18-1-1 with its second undefeated regular season in three years and its third straight ECC tournament title, lost several members of its defense from that team, including Sam Seibel to a knee injury, Redding said, but returned conference all-stars in Isabelle Moore and Theresa Durkee.

The team mobbed Christiansen on the field, celebrating for several reasons, not the least of which was breaking through against the Lancers after nearly 92 minutes.

“One, it's the ALS game (in its 10th season). Matt Greene does such a great job with it every year. There's great fans in the stands. It's a great night of soccer. It's what it should be,” Redding said. “Two is it helped my girls see they're good soccer players. They never stopped.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday