Coe-Brown junior Sam Frye was unstoppable on Thursday night. As he unbuckled his knee brace after a semifinal victory in Laconia, Frye relished his new beginning.
Last season, the Bears beat Hopkinton in the 2025 Division III boys’ lacrosse semifinals before going on to lose to Plymouth in the championship. It was in that 2025 semis matchup, and on that very field, that Frye sustained a knee injury that kept him out until just before this year’s playoffs.
One year later, it all lined up, he said — same opponent during the late game on the same field.
“You’re gonna get hit, you’re gonna score a goal and then you’ll be in the game,” Frye said team manager David Dembowitz told him.
On Thursday, Frye — back at full strength — did everything. He scored underhand shots, cutting across and clipping it in. Nothing Hopkinton put in front of him could slow him down. He finished with seven goals.
“I did all the recovery the right way, gotta trust the process,” Frye said about his year on the sidelines. “It’s great, really strong. Starting to gain the power.”
It was an all-around effort, though. No. 1 Coe-Brown (16-0) showed its pedigree and maturity compared to last year to beat Hopkinton, 17-11.
The No. 4 Hopkinton Hawks (12-4) put up a strong fight. The improvement across the board from last season’s semifinal loss to the Bears to this year was noticeable and not just by the scoreline. The game was close through the better part of three quarters.
In the second, it started with a big muscle-in drive by Hawks junior Jackson Westover.
Then, Hopkinton senior Shane Smith snuck right under the Coe-Brown defenders. He picked up the ground ball, intended as a routine pass back, in front of the goal and shot it in just before the Coe-Brown goalie could react.
Smith scored again 29 seconds later to tie it. Junior Owen Buss gave Hopkinton its first lead of the game in the second quarter. That would be the Hawks’ only lead.
The quick start against the No. 1 Coe-Brown was surprising. Earlier in the season, Hopkinton fell to these same Bears by 10 goals.
“We cracked the code, I thought, in the first half, but then they cracked the code the second half,” Hopkinton coach Deacon Blue said.
Blue was content with his team’s fight through adversity and selfless play. It was hard to capitalize on a Bears team that makes few mistakes.
Coe-Brown looked like the much better team after taking a 4-1 lead in the first quarter. They dominated possession, took advantage of Hopkinton’s errant passing and turnovers, and looked poised to make it back to the championship.
The game settled after Hopkinton’s flurry to start the second. Bears head coach Tony DePalma burned a timeout trying to settle his boys down and they did.
Frye and Fenton scored in quick succession to tie the game 6-6. The two teams would continue trading blows well until the end of the half, ending tied 8-8.
DePalma, standing in a light white button-up and shorts, relaxed after the game, said he harps on staying zen. He plays reggae at practice and wants his boys to stay as calm as possible.
In the second half, they were more than zen. They were focused and flowed in the game.
“There’s plenty of time left right here. This is their best punch. Let’s take it, let’s keep coming and they responded to that,” DePalma said he told the team. “Just preach and calm is what I was doing in there.”
Seniors Joseph Fenton, Robert Lee and freshman Charlie Frye each scored two goals for the Bears. Sophomore Glenn Papineau scored three. With so many options on offense, Coe-Brown took its time to find the best shot, and it paid off.
Next, the Bears will play No. 2 Bow (14-2) in the D-III championship. It will be right back in Laconia at 5 p.m. Sam Frye and the Bears can’t wait.
“I’m so excited. I mean, countless hours spent in my room thinking about missing last year. It’s all going to be paying off now,” Frye said.
