Even with the departure of a strong senior core from last year, Hopkinton boys’ lacrosse remains determined to win a Division III championship. The Hawks finished 2022 as D-III runners up after losing, 12-10, to Laconia in the championship game, a disappointing way to conclude their 14-3 season.
The crux of the defense returns, and head coach Deacon Blue has felt encouraged by what he’s seen so far.
“More qualitatively, definitely a hard-working bunch,” he said. “Some new faces as far as upperclassmen, but they’re all athletes, a lot of three-sport athletes who are just gamers.”
Among the returners, Blue highlighted senior defenseman Steven Reddy (All-State First Team in 2022) and junior defenseman Cam Bassett (Second Team) as well as senior midfielder Lincoln Wilson as the leaders he’s relying most on to lead the way.
“(Reddy’s) really good for us. He’s a captain. Great athlete. Really skilled lacrosse player and really vocal on defense and in general,” Blue said. “Cam Bassett as well – he’s super talented, big, athletic, smart. … And then on the offensive side, we’ve got Lincoln Wilson at midfield who’s a really good two-way (midfielder), smart with lacrosse, knows how to teach some of the other players.”
The Hawks have had the chance to play a few scrimmages so far, including on Monday night against Merrimack Valley, a game Hopkinton won, 7-2, according to Blue. Beyond the desired result on the scoreboard, he saw the poise his group displayed as a key attribute for why the Hawks can have another highly successful season in 2023.
And of course, that ultimate goal of avenging last year’s championship game loss remains front of mind.
“Hopkinton’s always aiming for that top spot,” Blue said. “I think the guys had that in mind in the offseason, and they want to be the top dogs. It’s definitely showing these first couple weeks.”
CONCORD
Coach: Jeff Smith (11th year)
Last year: 9-10, reached D-I quarterfinals
Returning starters: Joey Tarbell, sr., A/M; Brody McGonigle, sr., A/M; Max Leahy, sr., D; Nate Doherty, sr,. A/M; Read Merrill, sr., M; Matt O’Rourke, sr., M; Reece Reedenauer, sr., M
Top newcomers: Davis Linzell, sr., D; Douglas Smith, sr., D; Aiden Diachenko, jr., D; Sebastian Nichols, jr., D; Meier Kuepper, sr., D; Teigan Mason, jr., D; Piper Kuepper, so., G; Carter Doherty, fr., A/M
Outlook: The Tide are experienced on the offensive side of the ball, but will have many new starters on the defensive side.
“(We) hope that the experienced players can get the new players up to speed quickly,” coach Smith said.
Teams to beat: Bishop Guertin, Exeter, Pinkerton
Coaches: Howie Roever (3rd year) and Thomas Zervos (1st year)
Last year: H-D went 1-13 in D-III, Stark hasn’t had a team since 2019.
Returning starters: Jacob Davies, sr.; Manny Velazquez, sr.; Ryan Podsadowski, so.; Ben Boothby, jr.; Ethan Benn, jr.; Cejay Noiles, so.
Top newcomers: Daniel Gagne, sr.; Lucas Gagnon, jr.; Lucas Fitts, sr.
Outlook: Roever has reunited with Zervos and assistant coach August Colburn, both former players of his at John Stark, as H-D’s third-year program joins forces with the Generals to form a new D-II cooperative program. The Hillcats won their first-ever game last year, but ended the season with just 11 players.
“The new amalgamation is expected to have at least 25 players with some experience and athletes to mold into lacrosse players,” Roever said.
Teams to beat: Derryfield, Portsmouth
Coach: Sean Gill (1st year)
Last year: 3-11, did not make D-II tournament
Returning starters: Ryan Carmichael, sr., G; Matt Sanborn, sr., A; Aiden Monaghan, sr., D; Nick Debello, sr., FOGO; Danny McGonagle, sr., DM
Top newcomers: Nolan Beck, jr., M; Tyler Carter, so., A; Jackson Deyermond, so., D; Carter Garland, fr., D; Conner Hanson, so., A; Michael Kingsbury, so., G; Matt Lauren, so., A; Jacob Leclerc, so., A; Ryan Monaghan, so., A; Colin Reardon, fr., M; Colby Scheffer, so., D
Outlook: The Pride’s roster boasts speed, athleticism and depth, but it will take some time to adjust to a new coaching system.
“Although I am new to this program, I have many years of experience coaching these kids at the youth level,” Gill said. “I believe we will surprise the league this year.”
Teams to beat: Portsmouth, Derryfield
Coach: Bill Lawson (1st year)
Last year: 2-12, did not make D-II tournament
Outlook: Although we are a senior heavy team we do not have a lot of lacrosse experience. We are relying on the fact that we have many multi-sport athletes that will bring their collective experience to the lacrosse field. Along with this we have strong leadership.
Teams to beat: Derryfield, Portsmouth, Timberlane
Coach: Frank Lamparelli (3rd year)
Last year: 4-11, did not make D-III tournament
Returning starters: Tucker Townsend, sr., FOGO; Nathan Nelson, sr., M; Josh Lamparelli, jr., D; Evan Dow, jr., D; Brayden Murphy, sr., G; Ben Abromowich, jr., M; Alex King, so., A; Brady Ziegler, sr., A
Top newcomers: Connor Rolston, sr., M; Joey Richardson, Fr., A; Xander St. Pierre, sr., DM; John Thomas, sr., M; Cameron Fiasonaro, so., M; Luke Jackson, so., D; Roman Shtepa, jr., M
Outlook: Lamparelli has a roster of 20 strong and believes this is “the most talented group I have had in my three years as head coach … It is nice to see them gelling this early in the season.”
The players aren’t just talented, they are on a mission.
“They want to put Brady lacrosse back on the map,” Lamparelli said. “They know hard work will be required for this. It started this winter with them putting in the work with nine of them doing 16 weeks of indoor and four of them playing club year-round. We are taking it one game at a time but the goal is a playoff berth this year. We will have to play smarter and grittier than other top-of-the-bracket teams to win those games as our roster is not as deep as those teams. If we can stay healthy we should be able to achieve our goals.”
Nelson and Townsend, who have committed to play for St. Joseph’s (Maine) and University of New England, respectively, will lead the offense along with Rolson. Josh Lamparelli will anchor the defense with Dow taking on a much more significant role than last season.
Teams to beat: Campbell, Hopkinton, Laconia, Coe- Brown
Coach: Devin Calkins (1st year)
Last year: 2-13, did not make D-II tournament
Returning starters: Ben Berube, sr., A; Ryan McCabe, jr., A; Brodie O’Neil, jr., A; Billy Smethurst, jr., A; Gavin McCabe, jr., M; Canyon Batchelder, jr., M; Logan Rain, jr., D; Patrick Wachsmuth, sr., LSM; Owen Walton, sr., M; Hollis Jones, sr., M
Top newcomers: Will Bennett, fr., M; Sam Bennett, fr., M; Brad Ekstrom, fr., G; Eli Ayers, fr., D; Nate Davis, jr., A
Outlook: After a string of tough seasons in D-II, the Falcons have a new coaching staff headed by Calkins, a former Bow High player, as the Falcons look to take on new opponents.
“The team is feeling very optimistic after moving down to Division III,” Calkins said. “We’re returning the entire offense from last year, as well as our whole defense. We have five freshmen who can all contribute immediately. The group as a whole is very confident.”
Teams to beat: Coe-Brown, Hopkinton, Campbell, Pelham
Coach: Tony DePalma (6th year)
Last year: 7-8, reached D-II prelims
Returning starters: Drew Clinch, sr., M; Aidan Lindsey, sr., D; Landon Rafeal, sr., A; Matt Labrecque, sr., D; Connor Joy, sr., M; Jack Whitcher, sr., LSM/D; Dylan Swasey, sr., A; Connor Strum, sr., M/FO; Ryan Rodler, so., FO/M; Carson Hodgdon, so., M; Shea Escabi, sr., D/LSM
Top newcomers: Landon Midwood, fr., M; Joseph Fenton, fr., A; AJ Kozlowski, fr., M; Garrett Ward, fr., M; Jason Pogorek, fr., D; Ryan Matson, jr., M; Robert David Lee, fr., A
Outlook: The Bears are playing Division III this season after a few years in D-II and is entering a new division with excellent senior leadership, solid depth and strong team chemistry, although they haven’t stepped onto an actual field yet.
“We have great senior leadership,” DePalma said. “They are facilitating wonderful chemistry across the program. The vibe in training has started strong and continues to grow as a result of working hard together. Everybody seems to be on the same wavelength with shared goals and willingness to work hard for each other to get there. These guys have worked hard to get where they are, but they know that we have to continue to work harder to get where we want to be.”
Teams to beat: “Tough to say, but D-III promises to be to be extremely entertaining this year,” according to DePalma.
Coach: Tucker Johnson (3rd year)
Last year: 7-8, reached D-III prelims
Returning starters: Matt Berns, sr., M; John Fraioli, sr., A; Troy Madigan, sr., A; Mason Russell, sr., FO; Theodore Woods, sr., LSM; Owen Garzia, jr., D; Tanner Lewis, jr., D; Gunnar Benedict, so., A
Top newcomers: Ethan Weeks, jr., M; Corrigan Fleury, so., D; Braden Hurley, so., D; Brodie Malynowski, so., G; Noah Rubenberg, so., M; William Spanos, so., A
Outlook: The Cougars return 17 players with varsity experience, including all four players who started on attack last season (Benedict, Berns, Fraioli, Madigan), while only two starters from last year graduated. Russell and junior Aiden Deegan give Kearsarge a lot of experience taking faceoffs. The Cougars will have to step up offensively to help offset the loss of would-be returning starting defender Noah Whipple, who is out for the season due to a knee injury.
“I’m very excited to bring back a lot of guys who have been in the varsity program for a few years now,” Johnson said. “They know what to expect of the season and what it is going to take to still be playing come June.”
Teams to beat: Laconia, Hopkinton, Campbell, Kearsarge