Momentum swings key in Hopkinton's win in D3 boys lacrosse final

It didn't take long for an official to blow his whistle after the start of the Division III boys lacrosse championship game.

Mere seconds after getting the finale going, a second whistle stopped play before it really even got started, and Hopkinton High School's faceoff guy, Henry Yianakopolos looked unsure of what was happening.

But as his teammates and players from Kearsarge dropped back into the Cougars' end, the Hawks senior realized his team had been awarded possession to open the game. And from there, it was like everyone else on the field forgot about  Yianakopolos.

"When I win, I use my speed to my advantage and I saw a wide-open middle," he said. "They were doubling down on our best players and there are kids who can score all around our team. I was able to capitalize and it feels great."

Yianakopolos scored off that opening faceoff, just 11 seconds into the game, and although it took Hopkinton a few minutes to add to that total, the first goal set the stage for what was to come.

The Hawks got out to a 4-0 lead and led 6-2 after one quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game, as Kearsarge was forced to play catch-up the entire afternoon of what turned into a 12-7 victory for Hopkinton.

"It comes down to that start," Kearsarge coach Zach Matthews said. "When you start the game four goals behind, it's an uphill climb and they're too good of a team for that. They've got good playmakers. We did some good things defensively, but not in the first quarter."

Despite that, the Cougars kept it interesting getting as close as three goals at different points in the second half. Although Hopkinton was able to keep Kearsarge at a distance, it felt like things were shifting the Cougars way, especially after the Hawks were handed two penalties, including one to goalie Derek Amoth.

Down two men with the backup goalie coming in off the bench in the fourth quarter could have been disastrous for the Hawks. Instead, they killed off both penalties and put the game away.

"That was huge," Hopkinton coach Deacon Blue said. "I think it was kind of a head game in our favor. Our defense stepped up knowing Derek wasn't in and it fueled them and gave them a reason to step. They killed the penalties. We had some big stops a man-down for sure."

Kearsarge didn't help itself out in that situation, according to Matthews.

"I think we tried to do a little too much there," the coach said. "It was almost like we wanted a goal so bad, we just got away from our fundamentals and forgot what we were supposed to be doing out there. It's about quick ball movement, getting an open guy, and getting it on cage. I thought we were indecisive."

Yianakopolos thought remembering how the second game of the regular season between the two turned out helped the Hawks keep control of the game.

"We know, the last time we played Kearsarge, we got down 7-4 and came back to score four goals and won the game," he said. "There's no lead we knew we were comfortable at. We had to keep pushing. Luckily we got that lead because they came back, but they weren't able to tie it. Those four goals were huge."