Hopkinton Lacrosse Bows to No. 1 Westwood

WESTWOOD - Senior Brooke Rudden notched two goals in the first half to break the all-time Hiller scoring record, but Hopkinton couldn't catch a fast Westwood start that led the No. 1 Wolverines to an 18-10 final.

Westwood’s Kate Rich scored twice in the first two minutes of the Senior Day game before Hopkinton’s Eliza Carroll cut the lead in half.

Westwood's Laura McHoul then went goal to goal before finding Sarah Biron cutting in front to make it 3-1.

That started a 9-3 Westwood run to close the half, including another three from Rich.

Rudden's score in the first half gave her the Hopkinton record of 232, which she raised to 236 before the game's end.

“She was very tough,” said Westwood coach Leslie Frank. “We were trying to do everything right and she was able to get through us." 

After quick scores from Wolverines Biron and McGrail two minutes into the second half, Hopkinton coach Jodi Dolan called a timeout.

“We were standing around," she said. "We were throwing into sticks and they were just out-hustling us.

"I reminded them of all the things we needed to do to stay in the game,” Dolan said.

After the timeout, the Hiller defense came alive and limited Westwood’s offense to one score over 10 minutes. 

One reason the relentless Westwood offense scored only seven in the second half was phenomenal play from Hiller goalkeeper Jackie Chirco.

“She is twice the goalie she was in the beginning of the season and is peaking at the right time," Dolan said. "She’s awesome.”

Chirco had 10 saves in the second half and 14 overall, most from point-blank range.

The Hopkinton defense also helped by taking Rich out of the game, holding her scoreless in the second half and limiting her chances.

Despite their intense second-half performance, the early deficit was just too steep for the Hillers and Westwood held on, 18-10.

"All the top D-2 teams have played Westwood and they’ve all come in second," Hopkinton's Dolan said. "If we can play at that level we did in the last 20 minutes, we have a chance to do some damage in the tournament.”

Besides Rudden’s five and Carroll’s early score, Hopkinton's Hannah Gibney had two and Tess Chandler and Meredith Clark one each.