LACONIA – As time ticked away and the game shifted to overtime, Kearsarge boys’ lacrosse Coach Zach Matthews didn’t think twice about who would take the next shot for the Cougars.
Justin Norris already had three goals but he won’t forget the one that came next. One-on-one against Monadnock midfielder Jarod Redfield, who also had three goals, Norris shook off Redfield with a hairpin turn to the right side of the net. With a little more space, Norris sniped the top left corner for an 8-7 win in the Division III semifinals on Wednesday at Laconia High School.
The rest of the Cougars swarmed their hero of the night, piling on in celebration of what will be their first appearance in the title game since their 2009 championship season.
“I was on the bottom of the pile but I was on top of the world,” Norris said. “To be there with my best friends doing that, it was amazing.”
The second-seeded Cougars (15-2) will face No. 1 Hopkinton (16-0) for the Divison III title at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Hopkinton defeated ConVal, 19-1, in the second semifinal game at Laconia High on Wednesday.
Momentum swayed on a steady pendulum from the opening draw. Kearsarge took control early with Norris scoring the game’s first goal about six and a half minutes in. Monadnock (14-3) hadn’t gained its first offensive possession until five minutes into the game. But the Huskies had a swift response to Norris’s score, adding one of their own just 30 seconds later by Redfield. Monadnock’s Troy Rich (three goals) added another 23 seconds later for a 2-1 lead.
Monadnock led 3-2 at halftime and took the largest lead of the game, 4-2, three and a half minutes into the second half.
“We knew that we came out flat,” Norris said. “We also know that we are a strong finishing team. We didn’t really have any doubt going into the second half. We knew if we played tough we would (stay) in the game.”
“The Monadnock kids didn’t blink an eye,” Matthews said. “They attacked the cage and put us in a hole and there’s no doubt it makes the game feel a little bit different having to chase somebody. I don’t think it was a comfortable game for us. They pushed us a little bit. We were outside our comfort zone and had to do some different things and that’s a credit to them and their coaching staff.”
The Cougars responded with three goals unanswered for a 5-4 lead, thanks to Tate Nurme (two goals), Emerson Tyler and Zander Hauck.
The sides continued to trade blows through four quarters, tying the game six times. Norris scored his third goal for a 7-6 Kearsarge lead with 5:25 left in regulation. The Cougars were able to protect their lead until Rich tied the game again for Monadnock with 1:39 left.
The teams had two minutes to gather before overtime began.
“You have to make one more play at that point, you have to make one more play than the other team,” Matthews said. “In the end, I think we have a special player. We chose to put the ball in his hands and he finished the game off.”
Norris wasn’t going to shy away from this opportunity.
“I understand that role comes with a lot of responsibility,” Norris said. “I’ve been playing with most of these guys since I was in fifth grade so I feel pretty comfortable with these guys trusting me. I trust these guys, too.”
Henry Yianakopolos and Liam Flanagan scored six times each to lead Hopkinton to a convincing 19-1 win over fifth-seed ConVal in the second semifinal match of the night.
The Hawks were full-throttle from the opening whistle, scoring six goals in the first 5:35 of the game and led 12-0 at halftime. Yianakopolos silenced ConVal with four goals scored over a minute and a half in the first quarter.
“The guys just came out on fire,” Hopkinton Coach Deacon Blue said. “They got really pumped up beforehand, we had a solid gameplan going in and they just executed it perfectly.”
Derek Amoth stopped 14 shots in a near-shutout that was broken when ConVal’s Jake Phillips scored with 1:25 left in the game.
“I definitely wanted the shutout, but I have a lot of good friends on that team,” Amoth said. “I would have felt pretty bad about that, but a shot’s a shot and if you’re a goalie that’s what you want. It’s like your dream to get shutouts.”
“Our defense was great,” Amoth added. “We had a couple times where we had people open that ConVal wasn’t able to capitalize on, but we know playing Kearsarge on Saturday they’re going to be able to capitalize on that.”
The Hawks continued adding to their lead in the second half with four goals in the third quarter and three in the fourth.
“Even when we were up 12-0 at half, we knew they could come back,” Amoth said. “We scored 12 in the half and they could do the exact same. So even going into that we had to play as if it was 0-0 still.”
Yianakopolos led the team with nine groundballs recovered and 12 wins from the faceoff circle. Joe Cullinan chipped in with three goals and a pair of assists. Colby Quiet found his way onto the scoresheet with a pair of goals and six faceoff wins. Paul Molnar and Jake Tomlinson each had one goal.
ConVal finished the season 10-6.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)