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# Shorthanded Hopkinton overcomes Derryfield rally to win D3 girls lacrosse title
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/shorthanded-hopkinton-overcomes-derryfield-rally-to-win-d3-girls-lacrosse-title/
- Published: 2019-06-05T13:19:05.000Z
- Updated: 2019-06-05T13:19:05.000Z
- Description: HOOKSETT - Amelia Bassett and Ellie Morrall realized what was on the verge of happening with under five minutes to play in Tuesday's Division III girls lacrosse championship. Top-seeded Hopkinton High School had picked up five yellow cards, including two to senior Lyndon Flanagan, and had played all
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division III-IV, championship, Derryfield, Division III, girls lacrosse, Hopkinton, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

HOOKSETT - Amelia Bassett and Ellie Morrall realized what was on the verge of happening with under five minutes to play in Tuesday's Division III girls lacrosse championship.

Top-seeded Hopkinton High School had picked up five yellow cards, including two to senior Lyndon Flanagan, and had played all but 2:15 of the second half down two players.

No. 3 Derryfield School seized on that advantage to turn what had been a five-goal deficit late in the first half into a one-goal lead, and with possession, the Cougars were looking to take as much time off the clock as they could.

Bassett and Morrall stood at the restraining line, imploring their teammates to keep fighting for the ball, and eventually, the Hawks did.

Hopkinton goalie Elizabeth Berliner stepped behind the cage to deflect a Derryfield pass and the Hawks regained possession with about 3:30 remaining. The turnover led to a goal for Hopkinton to tie the game at 10, and after the Cougars went back in front, Morrall scored twice in the final two minutes to give the Hawks a 12-11 win at Penmen Stadium at Southern New Hampshire University.

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"They were down there trying to stall and I was like ‘this isn’t happening right now,’" Bassett said. "Ellie and I were screaming so loud on the restraining line. Go get the ball. That’s what happened. I guess in my gut I had a feeling we were going to win."

The championship for Hopkinton (17-0) is the first in the program's history, and comes after this year's seniors went winless as freshmen and finished as the runner-up last year to Laconia.

"I’m in awe of how much these guys worked their butts off and they earned it," Hopkinton coach Tim Bassett said. "They earned every second of it. They’re just such a great group. They’ve worked so hard for years. I started coaching five years ago, when they were eighth graders. We were losing 25-2 to these teams. It’s just great."

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/jmd3glaxfinal060419-h13-1wm.jpg)

Hopkinton's Ellie Morrall had five goals and an assist.

For the second game in a row, Morrall stepped up on offense, recording five goals and an assist, and the senior also won nine draw controls. That performance came after another five-goal game in the semifinals against Bow, when Flanagan also picked up two yellow cards.

"She is a true competitor and an exceptional athlete," Tim Bassett said of Morrall.

Flanagan added three goals and an assist in the first half while Amelia Bassett had two goals and an assist and Lilia Klinger and Sophia Staples-Roy also had a goal apiece. Berliner finished with five saves, all in the first half.

Derryfield (13-4) got three goals from Lucy Licata while Olivia Strong (assist) and Maggie Cissell had two goals apiece. Charlotte Rohlfs had a goal and two assists and Sydney Socha and Leah Hoey had a goal and an assist each. Sophie Brandt also scored and Shawna Lesmesrise made eight saves.

Just like when the teams met in the regular season - an 11-5 win for the Hawks - Hopkinton controlled the tempo early. But this time, the Hawks were able to find the back of the net, getting out tot a 4-1 lead just 5:05 into the game.

The Cougars defense was able to settle in after that, and a goal by Licata with 13:16 left in the half made it 4-2 Hopkinton, but the Hawks answered quickly. Amelia Bassett and Morrall scored back-to-back goals in 17 seconds to make it 6-2 and Flanagan gave the Hawks their biggest lead with 4:27 left in the half.

But with three minutes remaining, Flanagan picked up her first card - the team's fourth - and Derryfield went into the half with momentum after scoring twice in the final minute to make it 7-4.

Morrall scored 1:21 into the second half to make it 8-4, but Flanagan got her second card less than a minute later, meaning she would sit the rest of the game and Hopkinton would be down two players the remainder of the game.

The Cougars scored 25 seconds after the foul and added another goal with 21:29 remaining to cut the lead to 8-6\. Hopkinton won the draw, but turned the ball over and Derryfield scored again to make it 8-7 with 18:25 left, and the Hawks took a timeout.

"We told them they really had to start working hard," Tim Bassett said. "They had to cover a lot more territory than they were used to and the defense had to slide a lot more. We revamped and tried to get new middies in. We just kept flipping them to keep their legs fresh. It’s fingers crossed … but they’re true competitors."

Derryfield tacked on two more goals to go up 9-8, but Morrall kept winning draws to give Hopkinton possession, and although the Hawks couldn't capitalize on all of them, it meant the Cougars had to go the length of the field to set up their offense.

"Being down was a hard thing mentally to overcome," Morrall said. "Our team is so skilled, and we wanted this so bad, we all just stepped up and just played our hardest."

Cissell capped a 5-0 run for Derryfield with 15:21 left, giving the Cougars a 9-8 lead, their first of the game. But Hopkinton got the draw and Morrall quickly got the ball to Amelia Bassett, who scored 17 seconds later to tie the game again.

The teams traded goals until Morrall's pair 25 seconds apart that made it 12-11 with 1:29 to play. Hopkinton won the ensuing draw and used the entire field to keep the ball away from Derryfield until time ran out.

"It was really hard, especially being two-man down in the second half," Amelia Bassett said. "Our defense played incredible, being able to slide and switch quick, especially against their good players. We were able to go really hard because we wanted to really bad."