Hopkinton boys’ soccer coach Scott Zipke didn’t know what to expect from his team during this strange season of COVID. In the end, what he got was a surprise.
“This is my 15th year coaching the team and I was just telling the guys this was as fun as any other year, in spite of everything we had to go through like wearing masks while we play and constantly talking about social distancing,” Zipke said. “It was a fun team to be around, no attitudes, and they embraced this season as much as they possibly could, which was really cool to see. But it still hurts when you have a PK in the 80th minute to lose it.”
That’s what happened on Wednesday in the Division III semifinals. Hopkinton and Gilford were locked on a scoreless, back-and-forth game of runs when Gilford’s Anthony Aquiar was taken down in the box in the final minute of regulation and the Golden Egales were awarded a penalty kick. Aquiar took the PK himself and slotted it in the right corner to give Gilford a 1-0 win and a date in Saturday’s final against Trinity in Manchester.
“It was definitely a PK, it was was the right call, but it wasn’t a bad foul, so it’s really tough, especially when it comes with 20 seconds to go,” Zipke said. “As I just said to my guys, that’s sport. It wouldn’t be so sweet to win if it wasn’t so hard to lose.”
The Hawks finish their season with a 6-6-1 record, although they were 4-1-0 against other D-III schools. With schedules prioritizing location over division, eight of Hopkinton’s nine regular-season games were against local D-II teams Bow, Merrimack Valley, John Stark and Pembroke. The Hawks went 2-5-1 in those games which isn’t a surprise considering Bow is in Saturday’s D-II final, MV made it to the semifinals and Stark was undefeated before losing in the playoffs. It was difficult, but that opening slate toughened Hopkinton.
“We’re not really a big team and we like to play a lot of passes and possess the ball and I think playing those tough D-II teams got us playing more physical,” Zipke said. “It showed us we can play good soccer while also playing strong, not just having our soccer fall apart in knocking shoulders.”
Wednesday’s game was a good mix of physical play and skill as both teams played near their peaks. Gilford controlled the early stages of both halves while the Hawks asserted themselves as the clock wore down as the two teams took turns on the front foot. Hopkinton’s Ryan Graham and Josh Duval asserted themselves both ways in the first half, Bryce Charron looked dangerous on the wing, Andrew Beckwith had a good look at goal off a corner kick, Garrett Fitzgerald crossed a tasty ball through the box that was begging for a one-time shot, and Quinn Whitehead was one touch away from scoring on a counter late in the opening half, but the game was 0-0 at the break.
Both teams had great chances off corner kicks early in the second half, but Gilford keeper Thomas Donnelly (eight saves) tipped the ball off the bar and Hopkinton keeper Aidan Burns (six saves) made a stop on a point-blank shot.
The Hawks found mid-range openings to launch more shots at Donnelly as the half wore on, while Gilford worked deep into the box for chances. The Eagles thought they should have been awarded two PKs before they finally got the whistle they were looking for, and Aquiar made sure it counted.
Sunapee 3, Pittsfield 2
After going just 2-6-0 in the regular season, the Pittsfield boys’ soccer team stepped up its game in the postseason. The Panthers won three straight D-IV tournament games, including a 2-1 PK shootout win in the quarterfinals against Epping, but that run came to end in Wednesday’s semifinals against the Lakers (10-2-0). Sunapee will now host the D-IV final on Saturday against Littleton, which beat Profile, 2-1, in the other D-IV semifinal.