Hopkinton reaches D3 boys lacrosse title game with overtime win against Monadnock

EXETER - It was a classic by any measure, and when it was done, it was the Hopkinton High School boys lacrosse team once again standing tall.

The No. 2 Hawks and No. 3 Monadnock played a thriller that couldn’t be contained by 48 minutes. It took just 69 extra seconds of lacrosse, but Allen Faulkner’s bounce shot to win it sent the two-time reigning Division III champions into a frenzy celebrating their 11-10 semifinal victory.

The loss was Monadnock’s third straight semifinal exit, while Hopkinton will play in its third-straight title game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against No. 1 Pelham.

“It’s amazing,” Faulkner said. “It’s hard to describe. It’s my last year playing. Helping bring this team to another championship is unbelievable.”

In a chaotic game, Faulkner was a constant. The senior scored a goal in each of the five periods and added an assist for good measure. He anchored a diverse Hopkinton (15-1) attack that did what it had to do against a Monadnock (13-3) team that took the air out of the ball for long stretches of the contest.

“Allen is just a clutch player,” Hopkinton coach Deacon Blue said. “Super cool, light-hearted guy off the field, but when it comes to game time he lights it up. Really competitive spirit. Great leader on attack, and he steps up when you need it.”

It was a game that saw the lead change hands three times as neither team could pull away. Monadnock led by three in the third quarter but a goal from Colby Quiet just 49 seconds later cut the gap to two, and Hopkinton would have the game tied less than three minutes after that.

The fourth quarter was wild, as Monadnock opened up a 9-8 lead midway through the quarter only for Hopkinton to retake the lead 10-9 with 2:33 to play.

The Huskies, down to their final shot, restarted the ball with seven seconds left and Chris Boucher found a streaking Dom Dow atop the crease, who turned and scored with just under three seconds left to send it to overtime.

It was a grind on both sides as the Huskies looked to pick their spots while the Hawks wanted to push it.

Hopkinton got a diverse attack alongside Faulkner. Corey Breault had a pair of goals and assists and Quiet and Joe Sawitsky each had a pair of goals.

“Corey really does a lot for us as coaches in terms of keeping us in touch with the team and being honest, adult with us,” Blue said. “Super smart guy. Really good stick skills and gives it his all.”

Both goalies were spectacular. Monadnock keeper Joey Drew had eight saves while Benny Madden had 11 for the Hawks, including a sprawling stop on a shot early in overtime to give the offense a chance to win it.

With the game played so close, every possession was a battle. Hopkinton won ground balls 25-23, but the Hawks turned the ball over 21 times to Monadnock’s 19.

Monadnock outshot Hopkinton 36-31 and won faceoffs 15-10.

“We were dropping a lot of passes, especially in the first half, but again I told them to play relaxed,” Blue said. “If you’re stressed out, getting inside your own head, you’re not going to have soft hands and it’ll mess up the way you play. We tried to stay cool and have each other’s cool.”

Monadnock got three goals from Chandler Mattson and two goals from Dow. Boucher had two goals and three assists for the Huskies.

“Even teams,” Monadnock coach Rob Hart said. “We played them to I think (15-14) last time. It was back and forth (Thursday). Just a well-matched game. Fun game.”