Hopkinton News : high school sports

Hopkinton wins fourth straight title behind prolific Abildgaard

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:55:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Members of the Gilford defensive backfield tugged at the side of the net, hoping to find a hole that the ball could have slipped through, not willing to believe the ball indeed snuck into the upper right-hand corner of the goal.

The Golden Eagles joined the list of teams left baffled after a jaw-dropping postseason run by Hopkinton junior forward Kris Abildgaard.

Abildgaard scored 11 goals in four Class M boys soccer playoff games, the final tally giving his team its fourth consecutive state championship with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded and previously unblemished Gilford on Sunday, Nov. 8.

“That might be the most dominating stretch New Hampshire has ever seen from one player in a while, maybe ever,” said Hawks head coach Scott Zipke. “He also proved that he was able to use his teammates. Yeah, he scored, but today I was impressed with how he utilized the guys around him.”

Neither team cracked the scoreboard in the first half, but Gilford broke the drought little more than three minutes after the intermission.

But Hopkinton bounced right back. Billy French headed home a feed from Carter Rouleau to knot the score just 31 seconds later.

Then, with roughly 14 minutes to play, Abildgaard teed up a corner kick from the left side, but the ball was pushed out of bounds by a defender on the other side of the goal line. On the second attempt, Abildgaard bent the ball in with 13:46 remaining.

Zipke said Abildgaard has scored off corner kicks close to 10 times this year, though it was the first time he had done so from that side of the net.

“I’m never surprised by him anymore,” said Zipke. “Every time we have a corner kick we’re dangerous. He can bend it outside and inside. You just try to hit that in the middle and good things happen.”

Jay LeBlanc made five saves in net for the Hawks, and his head coach said the senior keeper and the defenders in front of him felt embarrassed following a 5-4 overtime semifinal victory against Prospect Mountain.

Abildgaard scored four times in that contest to lead his team to the win, but the defenders felt they had changes to make for the title game.

Brian Scala, Dan Lux, Adam Coen and Brandon Mansfield all bounced back in the championship tilt to limit Gilford, a team that had scored 112 times in 19 games entering the finale.

“The (defenders) had a lot to prove, and they wanted to show that (the semifinal) was an aberration,” said Zipke. “Our offense won us the semifinals, but it was our defense that won the championship.”

Unlike last year, when the Hawks entered the title game as the top seed, Abildgaard said there was less pressure arriving at Southern New Hampshire University as the No. 3 team.

“It was not looking at it like every team is looking to beat you since you’re on top,” said Abildgaard. “It was almost like we were the underdog.”

Seniors on the team include LeBlanc, Lux, Mansfield, Coen, Zak Jantzen, Tim Glanville, Nick Ellis, Carlos Banda Halla, Erik Kilens and Robby Keilig. Each has known nothing but that championship feeling in their years at the school.

And with state titles in each of his first three seasons, Abildgaard has similar plans. “We’ll have to make it another year,” said Abildgaard. “I want four.”

To reach playoffs, Hopkinton must outhustle foes

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:01:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

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.”

Hopkinton bumped from baseball playoffs after surprising regular season

Bow Editor — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:11:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Dave Chase is the first to admit it. His seventh-seeded Hopkinton baseball team was hosting a first-round playoff contest, but the game was in jeopardy before the players even took the field.

In fact, said Chase, it was in trouble a week prior, when the Hawks blew a 10-0 second-inning lead at home against Newport and fell, 14-10.

That setback cost them the No. 5 seed and what Chase said was probably the easiest path to the Class M championship. Instead, they opened the postseason against one of the top pitchers in the state, Franklin’s Derek Sylvester.

“We ran into a better team, or at least on that day they were a better team,” said Chase following Hopkinton’s 9-4 season-ending loss on Thursday, June 5. “I mean, this kid, Sylvester, he throws mid- to high-80s. He’s going to Boston College to play (Division I baseball), and he was getting his fastball over the plate, plus both of his different curveballs, which kept us off balance.”

So when Hopkinton gave up a first-inning one-out walk, followed by a two-run home run and back-to-back doubles, Chase knew his team was in for an uphill battle.

“I give (Franklin) credit. They capitalized on good fortune and adrenaline and the next thing you know we were down four runs in the first inning, and against a pitcher like that … By the time we finally got a run it was pretty much over.”

Evan Levy hit a solo shot to make it 7-1, but the locals never drew close.

Still, Chase said he was proud of his squad’s effort.

“We ended up with eight hits and four runs … Against a quality pitcher like that, you’re doing pretty well, but still, we fell behind early and put ourselves in a position where we can’t bunt. We can’t move runners. We can’t be aggressive because we don’t want to give up those outs.”

Though the season is over, Chase said the team exceeded the expectations of many around the state.

“As I said to the guys, 13-5 is pretty impressive,” he said. “I think, in a lot of ways, we overachieved. After losing those four (starting) seniors (from 2007), I think we had a pretty rewarding season.”

Chase loses six more players, including first-team all-staters David Brandt and Matt Story, and Matt Demers, a second team all-stater. Dan Forrester, Sean Pirttiaho and Nick Babson also graduate.

“If you take a look at those six, and then the four from last year, basically we have a whole new team coming back from two years ago,” said Chase.

Yet he’s still excited for next year.

“I look forward to a lot of new faces and new energy coming in,” he said. “We may not compete for a title next year, but we’re in a pretty good spot in that we have a lot of good baseball players that are phenomenal athletes coming in. I’m excited about the youth and their potential to play. I definitely see us back in the thick of things in a few years.”

The JV team currently fields seven eighth-graders who now have a year of high school baseball experience.

And Chase has just the guys to lead the youth movement. Joe Merrow and Nick Windhurst have already been named captains for 2009.

Also likely to return are Levy, Steve Bower, Kyle Hatch, Dennis Frasier, Jarrod Rouleau, Jay LeBlanc and Jimmy Angell.

Hopkinton girls take crown again; boys move up to fourth

Bow Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:11:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

While other squads competed against fellow Class M-S programs, Hopkinton track and field traveled the state – often with head coach Rick Welch driving one of the buses – and faced some of the top competition from Class I and L schools with student bodies sometimes two or three times larger.

“And they held their own,” said Welch. “It’s not a whole lot of strategy. If you get invited to a big meet, why not go?”

Calculated or not, when the Class M-S championship finally arrived, even the fog enveloping Gilford High School couldn’t mask the clear result of Hopkinton’s arduous schedule.

Hopkinton teaches larger-school foes a lesson at meet

Bow Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:11:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

If you didn’t look closely enough, you may not have noticed that a recent track and field meet in Pelham featured a Class M team in the midst of several Class I powers.

And if you did miss the oddity, then you probably also didn’t notice that the Class M team was best of all.

Hopkinton, facing seven schools with larger student bodies on Saturday, April 12, finished tops among girls teams and second among boys.

What’s more impressive, said coach Rick Welch, is that up until a couple days prior to the event, the team was relegated to practicing in the hallways of Hopkinton High School, while squads farther south, like Class I Bedford and Pelham, prepared outdoors.

Scorers for the girls, who finished with 135.66 points, included: Junior Quinn Nichols took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 29 seconds.

Sophomore Emily Cousens was tops in the 1,600 at 5:42, and senior Alison Bartlett came in fifth in the 1,600 at 5:58.

Sophomore Cass Mellen earned first place in the 3,200, finishing the run in 12:58. She was followed by teammate Shannon Mackenzie, a junior, who took second at 13:05.

Junior Amelia Paquette finished third in shot put at 30 feet, 2.5 inches, and freshman Kaylee Foote was second in discus with a toss of 73-6.5.

Senior Maureen McAulliffe placed third in long jump at 13- 10 and was seventh in the 400 with a time of 1:09.6.

In the 300-meter hurdles, senior Gretchen Loft placed second in 52.2 seconds, followed by sophomore Carolyn Maynard at 52.9. Freshman Hallie Loft placed sixth in 57.7 seconds.

Mackenzie took first in the high jump, and junior Katie Jackson finished third. Alexandra Trahnstrom and Chiara Herlihy tied for seventh.

Jackson came in third in the triple jump at 27-5.

The girls also won the 4x400- meter relay in 4:28.

The boys, who compiled 118 points, had several strong efforts as well.

The 3,200-meter run proved most fruitful for the Hawks, who placed six in the top eight.

Senior Sam Schlepphorst won the event in 11:25. He was followed by sophomore Ben Helm in 11:43. Sophomore Jesse Bostic was fourth with a time of 12:07; Ben Dalzell took fifth in 12:17; sophomore Ian head placed sixth in 12:19; and Doug Fuller finished eighth with a time of 13:41.

Schlepphorst also won the 1,600 in 4:59, and Helm was third in 5:18.

Joey Harrington, a senior, won the 400-meter dash at 54.8 seconds, and Sam Grady took sixth at 58.3.

Harrington also placed second in the javelin with a throw of 127-4, and Troy Namini finished fourth with a toss of 114-6. Senior Steve Claggett took second in the 110-meter hurdles in 18.4 seconds. Zach Cousens was fifth with a time of 19.5 seconds, and freshman Sam Helrich earned sixth in 19.7 seconds.

In the 800, senior Rohan Nobis finished fifth at 2:14, immediately followed by junior Tim Denoncour at 2:16.

Claggett earned fourth in the long jump with a distance of 17- 3, and Namini was seventh at 15-8.75.

Cousens placed fifth in the triple jump at 37-3.5, and Alexander Hubbard came in eighth in the 300-meter hurdles. The boys finished second in the 4x400 and sixth in the 4x100.

Hopkinton rides Nichols’ hot hand, breaks free for victory

Bow Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:32:00 GMT

BY CHRIS QUARTARONE

Jake Nichols knew this was a special game when he scored the first three baskets for Hopkinton. He didn’t stop there, pouring in a career-high 22 points in the Hawks’ 49-26 Class M boys basketball win against the Hillsboro-Deering Hillcats on Friday, Feb. 8.

“He’s been shooting the ball pretty well for us all season, and tonight he was on,” said David Chase, Hopkinton’s head coach.

Chase said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially the bench players. “The game was close in the second quarter, and when the second group went in, they really shut down (Hillsboro-Deering),” he said.

Despite a quick start by Hopkinton, the Hillcats were within one point due to good play from guard Miles Galloway.

In the second quarter, Hopkinton turned up the defensive intensity with a full-court press. The Hawks, who led 8-7 after one quarter, allowed only eight points in the second and third quarters combined. Hillsboro-Deering coach Kurt McCandless felt powerless to combat Hopkinton’s aggressive play.

“We’ve only been able to have one guy have a good game,” said McCandless. “It’s also hard to win when the other team wants the ball more than you.”

Hopkinton also received strong performances from senior point guard David Brandt and senior center David Wood. “We had good ball movement in the second half, and it opened up shots for (Nichols),” said Chase.

Game notes
Two players, one from each team, were ejected from the fiercely contested game.

Hopkinton senior forward Matt Story was tossed late in the first quarter after punching back at a Hillsboro-Deering player during a rebound.

Hillsboro-Deering center Dustin Chickering was ejected in the third quarter after committing a flagrant foul on a Hopkinton player driving to the basket. That foul was coupled with a technical that was assessed when Chickering threw the ball past the referee.

Young, gritty Hopkinton team comes up just short – again

Bow Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:15:00 GMT

By Matt Schooley

HOPKINTON – At each timeout or break in the action during a Hopkinton High School girls basketball game, team members put their hands in the middle of the huddle and say the same phrase: “Prove it.”

Hopkinton proved again its record was a poor indicator of the team’s effort. Facing 7-2 Somersworth at home on Monday, Jan. 21, the 3-8 Hawks dropped a 41-39 last-second thriller to the Hilltoppers.

Trailing 37-28 with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, the hosts came storming back to tie the game with 33 seconds to go before Somersworth retook the lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Hopkinton head coach Dave Hughes had one thought in mind while Hannah Richard’s desperation shot floated toward the rim.

“Go in,” he said. “With some of the close games we’ve had this year, you’ve got to think one of those might fall our way. Even though it didn’t, your attention then just turns to taking care of the kid who missed it.”

Although Richard’s shot didn’t fall as time expired, she kept the Hawks in the contest, scoring 22 of her team’s 39 points, including several key baskets down the stretch in addition to her aggressive defense.

Down nine points halfway through the final quarter, a stop in play turned the momentum back to the home team.

“I called the timeout, and really was trying to fire them up,” said Hughes.

“(Somersworth) was doing the same thing every time down the floor, so we just extended the defense, and I don’t think they were ready for it.”

The team played without key player Katie Babson, who competed for eight weeks before discovering she had a stress fracture in her shin, according to Hughes.

Lily Smith added nine points and five rebounds for the Hawks, while Liz Crews played stellar defense and tallied six points.

Heading into the season, Hughes said his team felt slighted by many who didn’t give the Hawks a shot to be competitive in Class M play.

“Before the season, I asked the girls to come up with what they wanted to say when we huddled up each time, and they came up with ‘Prove it.’ It really fits perfectly,” said Hughes.

“It means that everyone says we’re young, we’re small and we won’t be competitive. We are basically seen as a doormat to a lot of other people, and we want to prove them wrong.”

Hughes said Somersworth may have underestimated his team as well.

“I think they came in here and thought they were going to roll right through,” he said. “We had them on the … ropes, but we just couldn’t land the final punch.

“That maturity will come, and we’ll learn to take some better shots,” added Hughes.“We’re still learning how to win and how to finish.”

Indeed, five of the Hawks’ losses have come by a combined 17 points.

State champs prove talent isn’t confined to bigger schools

Bow Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:32:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Hopkinton coach Scott Zipke said he hopes the memory of back-to-back state champions reverberates for years to come.

“Those leaving, they left a legacy of excellence and served as an example that we strive for excellence here at Hopkinton,” said Zipke. “You often see trends set where if you have an average year, the kids next year will aim to be average. But if you get on a roll and kids see that goals are being set higher, they want to do just as well or even better than those before them.”

That’s quite the lofty task, added Zipke, who noted his five Class M all-staters this year are good enough to excel at any level of high school competition.

“To replace players like that … Well, you can’t hope to replace them, but you just do your best to fill the holes as best as you can and continue to set the bar high.”

And while the team must fill holes for 10 departing seniors, including first-team all-state selections David Wood and Zach Cousens, Zipke said he is confident the return of three other all-state selections – first-team picks Travis Fuglestad and Brian Long among them – means continued success.

“Having four first-teamers is really tremendous,” said Zipke.

“It’s a little unusual, I think, but it really shows that other coaches in the state recognize the caliber of these guys. That they looked at them and said, ‘It doesn’t matter they are on the same team, this is how I have to vote.’” Wood, a midfielder, came in eighth in voting for the all-New England team, just missing the exclusive honor.

But Wood, who Zipke said was the best in Class M this season, earned a spot on the Twin State team and will compete for New Hampshire with 21 other players from all four New Hampshire classes – L, I, M and S – when the Granite State faces Vermont in July.

“Statewide, people really know who Dave Wood is, and it was good to see him recognized as one of the best players in the state in any division,” said his coach. “Even when opponents marked him, he was able to distribute the ball so well that it gave other players the time to really blossom and made us that much more dangerous.”

Cousens, the other senior first-team all-state selection, doubled the vote total of the next closest goalkeeper.

“Zach Cousens made saves the last two years that simply kept us from losing games in the semi-finals and finals both years,” said Zipke.

Fuglestad, who scored 21 goals this season, made his second consecutive first-team allstate appearance.

“Coming in, he had big expectations, and I think making first team again proved he really belongs in that upper tier of players,” said Zipke. “He was probably a bigger threat to score goals than any other player we saw all year.”

That may be due, in larg epart, to Long.

Zipke can’t remember an opposing player beating him all season.

“He isn’t the most imposing player physically, but the best players in state just couldn’t get by him,” he said. “I mean, he flat out was just able to stop them.” Assisting Long in the backfield was sweeper Travis Kuster, who received an honorable mention in his first year playing varsity soccer.

The tandem of Kuster, Long and Cousens on defense, said Zipke, made each a standout on the field as they held opponents to 11 goals throughout the season.

Hopkinton siblings lead Derryfield to championship

Bow Editor — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:15:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

When Katherine DiPastina joined the Derryfield field hockey team as a freshman, she excelled immediately, not only starting throughout the season but led the Cougars with 12 goals.

So it came as no surprise to Derryfield coach Lenny McCaigue that, when her younger sister, Anne, joined the team, there were some striking similarities.

“They are both impact players,” he said. “On the field, they of course look for each other, and they definitely have that sister-to-sister connection.”

The two just completed their first field hockey season playing together – they practiced together when one was in sixth grade and the other in eighth at Hopkinton Middle School – and Katherine agreed with her coach.

“(Anne) really stepped up a lot this year, and she’s made me that much more competitive,” said Katherine.

“Having her on the team with me just makes me more comfortable. I mean, I’ve had fun every year I’ve played field hockey because (the players) bond like crazy, but it’s amazing having Anne on the team. We know each other so well. It’s really easy for us to work together.”

Anne said Katherine’s experience has been irreplaceable. “She definitely taught me a lot in terms of drills and playing, and she helped me learn during practices and even in between halves during games, so I understood (the game) better,” she said. “She’s been a great mentor.”

Though Katherine is a forward and Anne is a midfielder, both have taken their ice hockey backgrounds – seven years playing together, including four for the Lady Monarchs – and translated their on-ice success to the turf.

“The contact in ice hockey certainly helps them be intense and aggressive in field hockey,” said McCaigue. “We’ve actually had to tone that back to fit in with the rules of field hockey.”

“When we’re fighting over the ball it gives us a one-up on other girls because we’re more used to being physical and taking the puck,” said Anne. “(As a midfielder) you have to shut (the opposition) down before they even get to the defense, so being aggressive definitely helps, and I think it’s also helped Katherine because she has the physical ability to just plow right through defenders.”

As a sophomore, Katherine broke the Derryfield single-season scoring record with 24 goals, then broke her own record this season by putting 29 goals in net.

As a junior, she long-since passed the DS career record of 39 goals and seems well on her way to putting the mark out of reach for some time.

In addition to Katherine’s stellar speed and ability to change direction without slowing, McCaigue said she has the intuition to always be in position to one-time the ball.

“She has the natural goal scorers’ ability to be in the right place at the right time and get her stick on the ball … and she’s not scared to miss, whereas some forwards will pass off in those situations rather than take responsibility for the goal,” he said.

“At Derryfield, we talk about being a forward with a capital ‘F’ as opposed to a forward with a lower case ‘f.’ She is a forward with a capital ‘F.’”

McCaigue’s experience as coach of the U.S. National Field Hockey Team tells him Katherine has the “it” factor. He said her innate ability will help her excel not only at any level of field hockey but at any other sport she plays. Anne, while not yet a prolific scorer, is perfectly suited to center Derryfield’s midfield the next three years. That suits McCaigue just fine.

“I think she is more of a creator than a dynamic goal scorer, yet she has the same qualities (as her sister) in terms of speed and intensity and aggression and just a real desire to compete,” he said. “I’m planning on building my team around Anne next year.

We talk about the center midfield position as being the center of the wheel and her spokes going all over the field, and I see her being that hub that provides a smooth transition between defense and offense.”

Playing alongside Julia Maldonado, who McCaigue said is one of the best players in state, Anne overcame some early troubles and learned to use her aggressiveness to control the midfield.

Six games into the season, the coach said she was playing at a junior level, far exceeding his expectations of a freshman player. Anne contributed five goals in the Class M-S championship run.

Hawks look to forget late-season woes, focus on title

Bow Editor — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:57:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

If the Hopkinton boys soccer team hopes to defend its state crown, coach Scott Zipke said his players must play much more consistently than they did late in the regular season.

“I think they’re ready to go, but they know they’ve got a tough road, which they created themselves by not winning some games that they should have,” said Zipke. “It was good to see them come out hard and go to the ball. They had a sense of urgency that I haven’t seen recently.”

On Monday, Oct. 22, the Hawks opened tournament play by defeating visiting 13- seed Newmarket 6-0 behind scoring contributions from seven different players.

Junior Travis Fuglestad scored early with a low shot to the left post that he sneaked past the opponent’s goal keeper.

Freshman Kris Abildgaard followed by knocking in a cross from senior Matt Demers to put the locals ahead 2-0 at the half.

Demers scored first in the second half off a sleek pass from senior Joe Dammann and senior Dan Forrester notched the Hawks next two goals thanks to assists from Fuglestad and senior Steve Olimpio.

David Wood capped the scoring when he netted Hopkinton’s sixth goal midway through the second half.

But it hasn’t always looked so easy for the defending champs.

After winning their first 10 games in 2007, the Hawks finished out the season 2-2-2, nearly knocking themselves out of the top four spots in Class M.

And though he knows his team could have finished the regular season stronger, Zipke said he is happy to have earned the fourth seed and two home games to start the postseason and hopes to see last year’s experience pay dividends this time around.

“It remains to be seen. You know, it’s one of those things where I don’t want to forget about last year. It’s not like, ‘the heck with it, let’s move on.’ So I think they know what it takes to win the tournament.

They won an overtime game against Campell, they came back against Gilford (in the 2006 championship) and I think there are a lot of guys on the team that learned from that,” said Zipke. “Although I don’t think we used it much today, in the future if we are behind, I’m going to expect these guys to fight and manage a comeback.”

Hopkinton hosts Belmont in the second round of the Class M tournament on Friday, Oct. 26, at 3:30 p.m.

The two squads finished tied for fourth in the standings with identical 12-2-2 records.

Hopkinton drops in semifinal, still surpasses expectations

Bow Editor — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:22:00 GMT

By Sapna Pathak
Staff Writer

As they listened to coach Curt Martin give his post-game speech on Tuesday, Oct. 31, following a 2-1 loss to Raymond in the Class M semifinals, the girls of the Hopkinton girls team heard a scream of pure joy and exhilaration rise up behind them.

There, the players of Epping stood with their coach prior to a semifinal game with Gilford, hyping themselves up with chants and words of encouragement.

A couple Hopkinton players peaked through teary eyes in Epping’s direction, perhaps wishing they were in the Blue Devils’ place.

Two hours earlier, they were, focused on their own Class M semifinal clash.

Yet, after taking a 1-0 lead, allowing Raymond to tie the game and then take the lead, watching three top players leave the field with injuries, ultimately beaten, the third-seeded Hawks faced the reality that their season was over.

It was a sad scene indeed. But Martin took the chance to remind them how special they were just to be there.

With many freshmen on the varsity roster and four consistently starting, Hopkinton surpassed its own and many others’ expectations in a 13-4-1 season that saw it reach the semifinals for the 10th time in 11 years.

Once there, the Hawks ran into a physical Raymond team they had defeated and tied in the regular season but couldn’t contain in the semifinal’s second half.

Hopkinton, building off the momentum from a 3-1 win over Campbell in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Oct. 29, drew first blood in the 10th minute when senior Brittney Fleury found Elise Ewing, who tucked a shot past the keeper into the left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Raymond pressured the Hawks’ defense throughout the rest of the half, finally breaking through with a little less than nine to play until intermission when Maura McDonald punched a shot off the fingertips of goalie Ashley Brewster and in.

The real blow came seven minutes later, however, when Fleury was clipped near midfield, forcing her to the ground for several moments.

Martin later said she may have aggravated her right ACL, an injury serious enough to force her out for the most of the second half before returning for a few minutes late in the game.

But Hopkinton struggled to get much going thereafter when co-captain Jessie Jewell was forced to the sideline with a leg injury near the start of the second half.

Raymond scored the game-winner about 10 minutes later when Micajah Smith knocked in a Kaitlin Oldfield corner, and Hopkinton temporarily lost its other captain, Cassie Clough, when she went down and spent a few moments on the sideline.

Fleury returned with 10:17 to play, but even with her, Hopkinton struggled to test the Ram defense or its keeper as time ran out on its season.

“We had a couple people come out of the game that probably could’ve made a difference down the stretch, but that happens,” Martin said. “You move on, look at what you did well. I mean, we had a great season. We had five or six freshmen out there and we made the final four.”

Hopkinton graduates six seniors, including Clough, Fleury, Jewell, Brewster, Miranda MacMillan and Kate Scheffey, but returns a number of strong players, including junior Mo McAuliffe and freshmen Emma Brown, Melissa Baron, Katie Babson and Heather Scammon.