Hopkinton boys lacrosse knocks off Pelham to win battle of D3 unbeatens

HOPKINTON - It was a battle of the lone remaining unbeatens in Division III high school boys lacrosse when Hopkinton and Pelham met up Friday, and in the end it was the Hawks that kept their perfect season in tact.

The Hawks used a dynamic first half to race by the Pythons and cruised, despite some slipups, in the second half to a convincing 13-6 win.

Hopkinton scored the first nine goals of the game, as it found holes in the Pelham defense easily and used its 13-8 faceoff advantage to make possessions count.

“I think we were just pumped for this game,” Hopkinton coach Deacon Blue said. “The guys practiced well yesterday. They were just ready to go today. I think we’re peaking offensively at the right time. We’ve been trying to find that groove offensively, and I think we found it (Friday).”

No one looked better than sophomore attackman Colby Quiet. Quiet was a star for the Hawks, racking up seven goals including all four Hopkinton markers in the second quarter.

“When I had a longpole on me, I (did) a dodge and they drop and open up their hips,” Quiet said. “I immediately go under or over his stick the opposite way, and that can really get my hands open for a nice clean shot.”

Quiet led a varied Hopkinton (12-0) attack that saw five players score goals. Senior captain Jake Tomlinson had two goals and an assist, and junior Corey Breault had two goals.

Senior captain Paul Molnar had a goal and two assists.

“This game we really stepped it up,” Quiet said. “We were passing the ball well. Lots of guys were scoring. It was good all around.”

The Hawks offense sputtered in the second half as Pelham (9-1) outscored them 5-4 after halftime, but that allowed senior goalie Alex Rousseau to shine. Rousseau turned aside a dozen shots for Hopkinton including eight after halftime.

“Alex has been huge this year,” Blue said of Rousseau. “He’s a senior. He was backing up our old goalie for three years, but he worked hard in the offseason. He’s been a good goalie all along. He’s really stepped up for us.”

The Pythons showed flashes in the second half but couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole. Sophomore Evan Haskins had two goals and an assist to pace Pelham, and the Pythons outshot Hopkinton 19-12 after halftime.

“They didn’t really surprise us with much,” Pelham coach Will DeLanoy said. “They just executed really well. Looking forward to seeing them later.”

Hopkinton won ground balls 36-28 and forced 21 Pelham turnovers.