Doug Maynard knows what is going to earn his team a spot in the Division III postseason, and he reminded his group during every huddle.

The Hopkinton boys lacrosse coach stressed to his team the importance of winning ground balls during each break in the action, and it paid off during a 13-2 victory over shorthanded Pembroke Academy on Friday, May 1.

Attacker Duncan Sweny had a career day, finding the back of the net five times, and Billy French notched a hat trick for the Hawks, who took a 6-1 lead into the break and continued to pull away.

“We played with intensity the whole game, and our throwing, catching and ground-ball skills were very much improved,” said Maynard.

“That’s what’s going to win us these games, is outworking our opponents to ground balls and having that get things going on offense.”

With the win, Hopkinton improved to 2-4 on the season, with single wins stopping twogame losing streaks twice.

Maynard said his team has lacked consistent offensive firepower, but he saw improvement in that area against the Spartans.

“They know where to shoot and how to shoot, but they need to be able to just do it automatically,” he said. “The last two or three games our wing play has been the strongest aspect for us, and we are hoping that will carry over.”