Hopkinton boys lacrosse caps second-straight undefeated season with win over Laconia in D3 title game

EXETER - Gerry Donahue had a pretty good feeling when the Hopkinton High School boys lacrosse team started getting ready for this season.

Although the Hawks lost key pieces from an undefeated championship team, the senior defenseman saw a lot of talent coming up across the field, and Donahue thought Hopkinton could probably do it again.

He was right.

After falling behind early, top-seeded Hopkinton took control of Saturday's Division III championship game with a 5-0 first-quarter run, and the Hawks' defense kept No. 2 Laconia at enough of a distance for a comfortable 13-6 win at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

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"A lot of people doubted us going into the season and I guess that doubt feed us a little bit," Donahue said. "After seeing the hard work we put in in the offseason, I had no doubt we were going undefeated. From the first whistle we came out firing. It’s been such a great experience playing with these group of guys."

The win was the 35th in a row for Hopkinton (17-0), as the Hawks won the program's third championship.

"I’m proud of the way the guys come out for every game, refocus for the next game, and come out with a ‘W,' " Hopkinton coach Deacon Blue said. "Guys just came out every practice, every game, every day in the offseason, just working their hardest. They’re a tight-knit group. They’ve known each other growing up and really support each other and have each others backs."

Colby Quiet led Hopkinton with four goals and two assists, but three of those scores came in the second half as the Hawks had six different players score in the first half. Jake Tomlinson added three goals and an assist while Corey Breault had two goals and two assists and Paul Molnar also scored twice.

Pete Sintros and Joe Sawitsky also had a goal apiece and Alex Rousseau finished with seven saves, four of which came in the third quarter when Laconia (15-2) was able to maintain possession for longer stretches.

In the first half, Laconia was able to get possessions, winning 7 of 11 faceoffs, but the Sachems turned the ball over a dozen times, as Hopkinton's defense was able to press out on most of Laconia's opportunities.

The Hawks were able to do that, despite losing junior Kiernan Byrne to what Blue thought could be a broke wrist in the first half.

"It all starts at defense for us," Blue said. "They’re tough guys, they work together, they don’t get mad at each other. They are super humble. It’s a great defensive core that we have."

The six goals allowed tied the second-highest total the Hawks allowed all season, but Donahue liked the way the defense was able to keep its balance.

"We were going in with a tough mindset," he said. "We were thinking, shut down their best players. Put the long poles on their better players and the short poles on their quicker players. We were trying to find the balance."

Jacob Steele finished with three goals for Laconia, which was trying to win its second title in three seasons, while Riley Roy scored twice and Parker Minor also had a goal. Ryan Chiasson had an assist and Stephen Towers made eight saves.

Steele opened the scoring just 1:23 into the game, and that's where it stood despite until Breault tied it with 5:25 left in the first quarter. The goal seemed to get the Hawks going, as they went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter.

Laconia got a goal back to open the second quarter, as Steele scored again 1:02 in, but the Sachems struggled to keep possession. Quiet scored his first goal of the day with a minute left in the half to make it 7-3 at the break.

"The offense was working, everyone was scoring," Quiet said. "It was a great game. (The upperclassmen) kept their heads and we just stayed focused and kept doing what we do best.

"Most of it is experience from the upperclassmen, and to do it again, with a lot of other guys coming up, it shows how hard we work and how much time we put in compared to other teams."

Hopkinton stretched the lead out to seven goals in the third quarter, taking an 11-4 advantage into the fourth, and then tacked on two more to go up 13-4 with 9:50 remaining. Minor and Roy both found the back of the net before the final horn to close out the scoring.