Players on either side of the game were exhausted and as the final whistle blew, that exhaustion hit its ceiling.
Whether it was members in Kearsarge’s road whites or Hopkinton’s home greens, hands were on knees and nearly two hours’ worth of a back-and-forth game ended with no winner or loser.
Thursday’s 2-2 tie between the Cougars and the Hawks gave each other a playoff-like atmosphere and, for the fans on the sidelines, something to look forward to with the postseason drawing near.
Kearsarge coach Matt Burch spoke before the game with a simple message: How his team performed in a loss earlier in the week wasn’t the identity it has shown all year and that its match against Hopkinton would be different.
His pre-game prediction held true, and the Cougars’ display on Wednesday was a 180 compared to the product they displayed in a 5-0 drubbing against Mascoma Valley earlier in the week.
“I think that we can play with any team in this league; it’s just a matter of putting in more effort,” Burch said.
Kearsarge (7-3-1) opened up the scoring in the game. The first goal came from defender Luke Del Giudice who, in the middle of a horde of players from both teams, was able to lift the ball into the air and send it into the upper right corner.
Following the halftime intermission, it only took the Cougars a few minutes to net their second of the game. Cam Dezotell, a junior forward, was awarded a corner kick and hooked it left into the masses that awaited to capitalize on the kick. Sam Boulton, a captain and senior defender, was the lucky winner and sent in the deflected shot just past Hopkinton goalie Aidan Burns.
Perhaps one more Kearsarge goal would’ve put the game away, or at least made the comeback for the Hawks more difficult. But its chances shrank as Hopkinton began a more aggressive offensive approach. That aggressiveness showed in more shots taken, crisper passes and more communication.
And that all paid off when sophomore Avery Condon scored the Hawks’ first goal of the game. It was a needed one.
Senior captain Quinn Whitehead provided the equalizer in the match after the Kearsarge defense attempted to steal possession from Bryce Charron. The loose ball ended up on Whitehead’s foot, and he sent it in for the one-timer.
Hopkinton coach Scott Zipke was visibly frustrated after the game despite scoring the two goals and holding off a potent Cougars’ offensive attack in both 10-minute overtime periods.
“I thought we got beat all over the field in the first half,” he said. “They outworked us; they played better.”
Both teams have playoff aspirations, with Hopkinton holding the No. 2 spot and Kearsarge at No. 6 in the current Division III standings. Each of them have five games remaining and any loss would be detrimental, but not a season-ruiner. They each play on Friday as the Hawks travel to Hillsboro-Deering and the Cougars host St. Thomas.