LACONIA — Saturday just wasn’t the Hopkinton Hawks’ day. They simply ran into a buzzsaw. 

Facing off against top-seeded St. Thomas (16-0) in the Division III girls’ lacrosse semifinals, the Hawks struggled to slow down the Saints’ attack. The game reached running time — when one team leads by 10 or more goals resulting in the clock never stopping — late in the second quarter. St. Thomas took a 15-3 lead into halftime, and ultimately punched its ticket to the championship game with a 19-8 win. 

“St. Thomas is a very good lacrosse team,” Hopkinton co-head coach Gus Madden said. “We were able to make some adjustments in the second half and sort of even out the game, but it was too little too late at that point.”

Among the bright spots for the Hawks, senior Sarah Chodosh scored four goals and reached 200 for her high school career in her final game. Hopkinton’s other goals came from Maeve Owens (2), Ryan Barrett and Sydney Westover.

It was a deflating end to an overall strong season that saw the Hawks finish 13-3. They’d carried an 11-game winning streak into Saturday’s game, but the road ends in the semifinals.

The loss also means the end for Hopkinton’s seniors: Chodosh, Hannah Smith, Izzy Afflerbach and Viola Pietrabissa, as well as managers, Katie Brown and Thia Madden.

“I’m really proud, especially of our seniors for all the work they’ve put in over the years, and all our players. We had some freshmen that really stepped up really big,” Madden said. “We had our goalie, Viola Pietrabissa, who came from Italy and has been playing lacrosse for three months, and that’s an incredible thing for a goalie. So hats off to Viola. Hats off to all the players.

“I think the future is really bright for our team. I’m very excited for the future. We have 14 freshmen on the roster, and they’ve all got good sticks, so as we go forward, we’ll continue to build. This loss is gonna sting for them and for us, but as I always say, we’re gonna learn from our lessons, put the work in and build going forward.”

Madden’s coached most of the senior class since the players were in first grade, so Saturday marked the end of a particularly lengthy player-coach relationship. Still, he’s confident their impact will stick in the program beyond their playing days.

“Their leadership has been impeccable on and off the field,” Madden said. “It really makes a big difference for the players, and it’s going to be a big loss to not have them around next year, but we hope they’ll come back and help with practices and continue to build Hopkinton lacrosse because that’s what we’re here for.”