BY MATT STOUT
The news may have derailed a different program, its head coach leaving after just its second year as a varsity squad. And, quite honestly, Steve Porter, the senior tri-captain of the Hopkinton boys lacrosse team, said his initial reaction was far from optimistic.
But even with the announcement last fall that their head coach and defending D-III Coach of the Year, Rick Senatore, was leaving to take the same position with the Saint Anselm College men’s program, the Hawks did not panic. No alarms went off, no white flags shot up.
After surprising all of Division III last spring with 12 wins and a run to the state semifinals, Hopkinton was no stranger to the unexpected. It also sees no reason why it can’t stay as acquainted with success.
“At first, I was like, ‘That’s not too good for our team,’” Porter said following a recent practice at the Harold Martin School. “But I started to think about it more, and I knew we had a strong core of players, I knew our captains could step it up, and we have two new strong coaches now.”
Translation: the Hawks have plans to fly as high as ever.
Led by 18 returning juniors and seniors and assistant-turned-head-coach Doug Maynard, Hopkinton has all the
ingredients to earn a return trip to D-III’s final four, and perhaps even more.
Porter, last year’s leading scorer, heads a group of four first-team all-state players who’ll reprise their roles for the team this year, including senior midfielder Deacon Blue, senior midfielder Dave Roberts and senior defenseman Nate Mosseau. Joining Mosseau in back is junior Dave Wood, an all-state honorable mention pick last season.
Senior midfielder Ben Metcalf and juniors Doug Meyer, Al Nielsen, Joe Dammann and Joe Harrington also will be counted upon this season in front of senior goalie Graham Crews, who’ll replace the since-graduated Tim Harritt, the only starter the Hawks lost.
Yet, perhaps the most important person to return won’t take one shot for Hopkinton all year. The team’s assistant coach under Senatore last spring, Maynard is starting his first season at the varsity team’s helm, though he’s hardly a newcomer.
The head coach of the Hawks’ club team in 2002 and 2003, Maynard, 58, is a former All-American midfielder at Wesleyan University, the coach at Bishop Brady when it won the D-II state title in 1998 and the former mentor at Southern New Hampshire University during the late 1970s and early ’80s.
Maynard said he’ll introduce subtle changes to Hopkinton’s offensive and defensive schemes this season, but the team won’t shy away from the aggressive style that carried it through last season.
“This is going to be a big year for us, I hope,” said Maynard, who’ll have Doug Mumford as an assistant. “But just because they’re returning nine of 10 starters doesn’t mean they’re not motivated to work even harder this year and do the things that need to be done to try and do better. Last year we took people by surprise. When I went to the high school coaches’ meeting, basically we’re not going to be sneaking up on people this year.
They’re going to be gunning for us.”
The Hawks are well aware of that, especially after defending champion Kearsarge lost several of its key players.
But others, like Laconia, Merrimack Valley and Hollis-Brookline, all look strong again, said Blue, one of the team’s other tri-captains with Mosseau.
Still, the added expectations to win – perhaps a first for Hopkinton – doesn’t scare the team.
“I think performing under pressure should be one of our strong points if we want to be a championship team,”
Blue said.
With a 10-man senior class that includes some of the town’s first players to join the Hopkinton Recreational Department league, a title is perhaps the only goal.