Field hockey: Bishop Brady ends regular season with six-game win streak, 6-0 win over Hopkinton

By DAN ATTORRI

Monitor staff

Published: 10-14-2023 11:00 AM

CONTOOCOOK – After playing three games in three days, Bishop Brady could’ve excused a slow start. But that isn’t what the Giants do. The Bishop Brady field hockey team scored twice in the opening quarter and built a 5-0 halftime lead en route to a 6-0 victory over Hopkinton on the Hawks’ senior day on Friday.

Carly Fuller (three goals), Camdyn Despres (two goals) and Kimble Rose all found the back of the cage for the Giants, who ended the regular season with an 11-3 record and a four-game winning streak.

Brady wasted no time getting on the board, with Despres deflecting a Laura Yap shot off a penalty corner less than three minutes into the game. Fuller had her first tally with 4:18 left in the opening quarter.

Rose (14:02), Despres (2:27) and Fuller (0:08, off an assist from Mady Savary) all scored in the second quarter, and Fuller completed her hat trick with a goal at 6:05 in the fourth quarter.

The Giants controlled the tempo for the majority of the game, holding a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal and a 12-6 advantage in penalty corners.

Autumn Meier and Ryan Barrett moved the ball well up the field and provided offensive pressure for the Hawks, while Sylvan Dustin played well defensively.

Brady goalie Ava Archambault had five saves and Hopkinton netminder Maddie Ceriello had six.

“Everybody had a hand in today. We defend as 11 and attack as 10 and I think we completed that mission (today),” Brady head coach Kelly Owen said. “We had to work on a couple little things, along with trying to step up what we’ve consistently been doing all along.”

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The Giants and Newfound both finished the season with an 11-3 record and will have the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, meaning the two teams will play each other in the quarterfinals on Saturday after receiving byes for the preliminary round.

“We have a whole week (to prepare),” Owen said. “(Playing a team three times) is always a little challenging. It’s going to be a battle.

Signs of rebuilding

While dropping the senior day game to cap a six-game losing streak to end the regular season isn’t what Hopkinton had hoped for, the program is still trending upward. After going 2-11-1 last year, the Hawks are 5-9 and will have either the No. 10 or No. 11 seed for the postseason tournament starting next week.

After the game the program honored its two seniors – Dustin and Hadley Cook – and with such a young program there’s even more reason for optimism.

Hopkinton will likely travel to Mascoma Valley or Berlin in Wednesday’s preliminary round.

Playoff picture

Friday marked the final day of the regular season for all three NHIAA field hockey divisions, with brackets expected to be released on Monday and preliminary round games beginning on Tuesday.

Joining Bishop Brady and Hopkinton in the D-III tournament is Kearsarge (7-7), who will also have to travel to face its preliminary round opponent, while Winnisquam (5-9) and Franklin (2-10) are done for the season.

In D-I, Concord (10-5-1) is likely the No. 6 seed and will host an opponent on Tuesday.

All capital area teams in D-II are expected to qualify for the tournament, with defending champions John Stark (13-1-0) locking up the top seed to earn a first-round bye.

Bow (10-4-0) will host its preliminary round game on Thursday, while Merrimack Valley (7-5-2) and Pembroke (4-9-1) will play all its tournament games on the road.