BEDFORD – Two goals in the first half lifted the Hopkinton Hawks to a 2-0 victory in the Division III championship over Mascoma Valley, a perfect performance to complete a perfect season. 

“That’s a special feeling, you know. And a lot of these guys I’ve known for a long time,” Hopkinton head coach Scott Zipke said. “There's a lot of guys here that I'm real tight with, and so it’s a special day today for sure. “

When the Hawks and Royals faced each other earlier in the season, the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the only non-win on Hopkinton’s record.

After two tough wins to open the playoffs, the Hawks (19-0-1) arrived in Bedford to complete the undefeated season gauntlet. Nolan Linstad’s game-winning strike was the only goal in a 1-0 semifinal win over St. Thomas, while Mascoma (15-1-4) entered Saturday’s final at Bedford High School with slightly more decisive performances, a 4-1 win over Stevens and a 2-1 win over Prospect Mountain.

But on Saturday, the Hawks had the Royals on their back heels since the first kick. Hopkinton’s possession-based brand of soccer was running easily around Mascoma’s physical defense. 

Through the first 25 minutes, the Hawks had tried multiple crosses into the box and long throw-ins from senior defender Noah Aframe to try and score, but none were completed successfully.

That is, until an Aframe throw-in to junior forward Kristof Cauley earned the Hawks a corner kick on the left. Senior midfielder Deegan Tomaz sent a looping cross into the box that bounced around until senior midfielder Cole Breault was able to knock it into the net.

“It hit off my chin. I have no idea what happened after that,” said Breault. “It feels awesome as my last year as a senior, it feels like something I always dreamed of was winning a state championship.”

Seven minutes later, a great through ball from Cauley in behind the right wing enabled senior midfielder Cody Charron to score a screamer that looped over Mascoma goalkeeper Matt Favreau’s (seven saves) head, hit the far left post, and bounced into the right side of the net to double the lead.

“We were watching the film before the game, and we had our own group chat, and we discussed it,” Charron said. “It was there, and I was like, ‘I’m not gonna pass. I'll just shoot it, see what happens.’ And it ended up in the back of the net.”

After going down 2-0, the Royals pushed hard to get closer and played much more physically defensively. The Hawks’ goalkeeper, Travis Windhurst came up with a four saves to keep the clean sheet, hoping to see his team comfortably lead at the half. 

“Part of the story that that we kind of tried to keep quiet is, halfway through our season, our goalkeeper blew out his knee,” said Zipke. “Travis was a defender at that point, and he said, ‘I'll do whatever you need, coach, and I'll be in goal.’ Travis Windhurst has been awesome.”

The Hawks adopted a more defensive formation in the second half and were wary to push high, but were still able to dispossess the Royals in their half and launch quick counter-attacks.

The Hawks also dominated through the air on top of possessing the ball. The defensive back line of Shane Smith, Aframe and Michael Pantano held the Royals at bay, aided by senior defensive midfielder Nate Windhurst.

Mascoma Valley’s two big forwards, Brayden Pierce, a junior, and senior Tanner Moulton continued to create chances in the final third, but struggled to get good shots on target.

“They’re just really tough to stop. So we talked about them a lot and talked about how to deal with it, and our guys executed,” said Hopkinton’s Zipke.

Both Linstad and Charron came up with great chances toward the end that Favreau made diving saves for, but could not convert a third goal as the clock winded down.

After falling in penalty kicks in last year’s semifinal, the sound of the final whistle to end regulation was a relief, especially for the seniors.

“So we go from losing in the first round to barely losing in PKs in the semis, and then making the championship, and then coming out here and playing as well as we did in the championship,” said Zipke. “It’s that next step, that ascension, and these kids have been awesome all year.”

In the end, the scoreline did not matter for the Hawks, who celebrated jubilantly in front of the huge green crowd in the stands. 

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com