Soccer: Hopkinton Hawks boys and girls beat Bishop Brady on senior night
Published: 10-23-2024 3:22 PM
Modified: 10-23-2024 5:29 PM |
Bishop Brady’s soccer teams hosted senior night on Tuesday against Hopkinton at the Edward Cross Training Center in Pembroke in a tough Division III doubleheader. All in all, Bishop Brady had eight seniors across both teams that were honored for their contributions to their teams.
The boys’ game kicked off at 5 p.m. and Hopkinton demonstrated why it’s the top team in the division with a comfortable 6-0 win. The Hawks (14-0-1) are positioned to finish first with one game left in the regular season.
“We just got to keep taking it one game at a time. I know it’s cliche,” said Hopkinton’s head coach, Scott Zipke. “Every team doesn’t want to lose in the playoffs so whether it’s first round, or you may actually get that win second round. There’s no gimmicks in the playoffs, so we just got to keep taking (it) game by game.”
The Hawks’ six goals were all scored by different players, and Bishop Brady struggled to contain the attacking prowess on all sides. The Giants’ sophomore keeper, Henry Thresher, played well and had 11 saves but was unable to contain all the shots.
However, Giants coach Carlos Fuertes thought that despite the result his team looked well-positioned, smart and improved overall since the start of the season.
“Oh the improvement now, they look much better, so that was a huge improvement from them. I know they felt good that second half,” said Fuertes.
Hopkinton was patient in possession, moved the ball well on the wings across into the box to create chances and was able to hold the Brady attack in transition. The Giants (4-11-0) played a deep line and looked to counterattack but only forced Hopkinton’s goalkeeper, Travis Windhurst, to make three saves.
“From the jump tonight, the Hawks possessed the ball and created dangerous scoring opportunities. Rowan Boyle contributed some smart, hard-working minutes at outside mid, scoring on a corner kick and then later laying off a low, hard cross for Murphy to finish,” said Coach Zipke.
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles
Hopkinton scored four times in the first half. Nolan Linstad opened the scoring on a header from a perfect long throw-in by Noah Aframe, who has provided an added layer of threat on set pieces for the Hawks. Deegan Tomaz scored the second goal three minutes later, only 15 minutes into the half, on a powerful shot that rattled the post and in, and the Hawks remained solid.
“We just wanted to come out and keep good shape and play good soccer and not fall into just kicking and running after the ball. I thought we accomplished what we tried to do. Started fast and played controlled and completed a lot of passes,” said Zipke.
Bishop Brady entered this penultimate game banged up as both of its seniors were injured earlier in the season, and it was forced to field a significantly younger team compared to Hopkinton. Fuertes believes that the young core overall will look to build for the future and learn from this season as they grow older, bigger and faster.
“They would have made a big difference, the contribution they would have done with this team but turned on the injuries, that’s how it is,” said Fuertes. “The sophomore class is really good. Then, the core of my freshman class is what I’m impressed with. They’ve gotten better.”
The girls’ game was not as lopsided as the boys’ and featured a much more tactically difficult challenge for Hopkinton (12-2-1). Although the Hawks won, 3-0, they only managed to score one goal through the first 70 minutes of the game and had many shots that were all saved by Brady’s sophomore goalkeeper, Natalie Sherman.
Hopkinton senior forward Sadie Serzans scored the first on a long shot from the edge of the left side of the box early in the first half. The Hawks kept possession well and were organized solidly but were unable to break through further.
Sherman got the start in goal over the usual starter, Claire Jackson, who instead played out in the field for her senior night. The Giants (2-11-2) were already eliminated from playoff contention but still played a tough game defensively.
Sherman notched 16 saves and was lucky that the Hawks hit the post twice and had one shot cleared off the goal line by defender Abby Crowdes. Giants head coach Steven D’Agati said he believed that this game was his team’s best against a strong team all year despite having a thin bench with only three players.
“It was a good-fought game,” said D’Agati. “The team’s improved with the year.”
As the game slowed down and the legs of Bishop Brady’s defenders got heavier it let in goals by Paige Prisco-Nelson and Kennedy Mark. Now the Hawks girls’ team will look to get one last win against Hillsboro-Deering and break ahead in a four-way tie for the second seed.
“Great environment Bishop Brady put on for everyone. Good sportsmanship all around,” said Hopkinton coach Mike Zahn.