Kearsarge came storming back with two goals within two minutes, 22 minutes into the second half, with a long individual run by junior forward Quinn Cusick and a game-sealing short-range shot by senior midfielder Elias Cooper to beat Hopkinton, 2-1.
The undefeated second-seeded Cougars (14-0-4) faced their biggest challenge yet on Wednesday afternoon in pursuit of making it back to the boys’ soccer championship for the first time since 1993.
“Thinking back to last year, them beating us in the quarterfinals, it’s just a little something extra,” Cooper said about beating the Hawks.
Last year’s undefeated state champions, the No. 3 Hopkinton Hawks (13-3-2), had experience coming into the match-up as they entered their third consecutive Division III semifinal.
The Hawks’ team, full of seniors, had taken the program from the sixteenth seed their freshman year to a state championship and consolidated itself as one of the top groups in Division III under the leadership of Coach Scott Zipke.
“That might be the best run, as good a run as any group of seniors, freshman to seniors. I mean, they took us from the bottom right there up to the top,” Zipke said after the match.
The game started with fireworks, figuratively, as both teams traded goal-scoring opportunities on either end.
Earlier this season, the two drew, 0-0, in Hopkinton with very slight margins on either side. The semifinal was nearly identical and the goalies, sophomore Grady Burch for Kearsarge and Hunter Eckner-Naylor for Hopkinton, kept their teams in the game.
Hopkinton’s only loss was against the undefeated and top-seeded St. Thomas Saints, who played in the later game.
The key to the game for Hopkinton was to find a goal in any way possible against the Cougars, who had only allowed two goals since late September.
Kearsarge seemed to have the edge early as sophomore forward Bryce Selby broke away on a through ball but was fouled on the edge of the box, for which Hawks senior Evan Gregory was issued a yellow card.
Junior forward Quinn Cusick generated the Cougars’ most clear chance on goal with a run up the right side and a low driven shot saved in cat-like fashion by senior Hunter Eckner-Naylor.
Grady Burch came up with some huge saves to keep his team alive. Toward the end of the first half, a low cross across the box by senior forward Fin Murphy, who found junior Rowan Boyle on the other side, but whose shot was saved and ricocheted off the post and out.
Burch saved another one-on-one opportunity a few minutes into the second half when senior striker Nolan Linstad shot the ball to the right, but Burch extended for the save.
“I have no problem saying he’s the best keeper in the division without a doubt,” Gunn said as he praised his young keeper.
However, Hopkinton broke through from a set-piece to score first.
After Linstad was fouled on the right touchline, senior midfielder Reed DeWitt sent a long looping cross over the Cougars’ defense that fell to the feet of junior midfielder Sawyer Zipke.
He controlled it and quickly shot it high into the top of the net to take a lead within the first five minutes of the second half as the crowd erupted.
Kearsarge head coach Couper Gunn said his team drilled situationally all week, preparing for situations where they’re down a goal or ahead a goal.
“Because for some teams, I think, crumble when they don’t know, but the kids did such a great job to bring themselves together,” Gunn said.
Gunn’s team did not crumble. Cusick broke free on a run, first winning a fifty-fifty header around midfield and pushing the ball up.
He settled himself for the shot as he entered the box and scored, out of reach for Eckner-Naylor.
“This whole season I’ve just banked on the defender missing the ball,” Cusick said, spoken like a true goal poacher.
Cooper’s goal came only a few minutes later, with another Hopkinton shot saved by Burch before it.
After a foul was committed near the left wing touchline, Cusick sent a long ball over from a free kick that flew over the defensive line and bounced near perfectly for Cooper who finished with his left boot to put his team ahead.
The final 2-1 result signified new eras for both teams in Division III. Hopkinton contemplating graduating a large cohort of talented seniors and the up-and-coming gritty Cougars.
“I think that high expectation of what these seniors have done will leave a good legacy going forward,” Coach Zipke said.
Now, the undefeated Cougars will move on to play No. 1 Saint Thomas (16-1-1), a team that battered opponents with strong offense all season.
“We got scored on, obviously, so we’re gonna try and figure out what went wrong and how we could improve on that,” Cusick said as he looked ahead to the championship.
However, that one loss on the Saints’ record came from a Kearsarge win, 1-0. If history repeats itself for the Cougars on Friday at 5:15 p.m., the Cougars may make history for their school and end the championship drought.