It had been almost two months since the Hopkinton field hockey team opened the season against Mascenic, but the Hawks opened Division III tournament play the same way they opened the regular season, with a shutout victory over the Vikings.
Julia Baer and Charlotte Presti both scored in the second quarter to lift the top-seeded Hopkinton (15-0) to a 2-0 victory over No. 9 Mascenic (9-7) at home on Sunday to advance to Thursday’s D-III semifinals.
The 2-0 scoreline in Sunday’s quarterfinal may have been closer than the 6-0 victory that the Hawks posted on Aug. 31, but Hopkinton never let the Vikings get much momentum, outshooting them 16-2 and getting a 12-7 advantage in corners.
Mascenic’s offense was prolific in its 4-1 preliminary round win over No. 8 Berlin, but it was all Hawks in the first half, getting five corners in the first five minutes of the match, outshooting the Vikings 12-0 and having a 9-1 corners advantage through the first game’s first 30 minutes.
Sophomore goalie Katalina Davis (14 saves) held off the onslaught for a while, but Hopkinton pushed numbers forward and crowded the circle, resulting in a goal from senior Julia Baer (assisted by senior Kate Bouchard) at 11:15 and another from sophomore Charlotte Presti (assisted by junior Rose Finlayson) at 6:46 in the second quarter.
“We had a bye, so it was a long span of practice, making sure we were staying focused,” Hopkinton head coach Kate Hohenberger said. “We definitely knew we were going to have to come out strong and work hard because we knew (Mascenic) had competed already and were in that game mentally. We went the first quarter without scoring, but it was an eye opener and (Hopkinton’s players) got their nerves out. Then they went right in and started to open a little bit, relax and settle into their positions.”
The ball reached Mascenic’s attacking third for the first time with 1:45 left in the half, resulting in the Vikings’ first corner, but the ensuing shot was fired wide, hardly troubling senior goaltender Abby Simpson (two saves).
After a quiet third quarter, Hopkinton was called for a penalty with 10:33 left and put them down a player for two minutes, giving the Vikings the opportunity they needed. Mascenic built on that momentum, getting six corners in the last 10 minutes and getting its first shot on goal.
Simpson knocked a high ball out of the air with a blocker save and made a kick save on the ensuring rebound, as the Vikings kept the ball in Hopkinton’s end for the majority of the final 10 minutes.
But the Hawks never let Mascenic find the cage and punched their ticket to Thursday’s semifinal against No. 4 Newfound (12-2-1).
In the Vikings’ prelim round win at Berlin, Mascenic got two goals from Lexis Vautour and one each from Bella Knisley and Olivia Shaw. Leah St. John had two assists and Ava Johnson one.