After a first half in which the Hopkinton High School girls soccer team was in complete control, things took a stunning turn in the second period, as host Franklin rallied for a 4-3 victory Thursday night in a Division 1 state quarterfinal game.
The 14th-seeded Hillers end their season with a record of 15-4-2.
Hopkinton led 2-0 at the half. Just before the midway point of the period, Lilly Clarke took a corner from the right side and lofted a ball to the middle of the box, about 10 yards in front of the net, toward Aila Chase. The goalie held her line while two defenders backed away from Chase, leaving her alone to deliver a header toward the right corner of the goal, past the diving netminder.
Less than four minutes later, Emma Prisco fought to gain control on the right side, about 30 yards from goal. She stayed wide right, moved past a defender and placed a low, right-footed shot that two-hopped into the net, past the diving goalie.
Sixth-seeded Franklin (14-5-2) found its footing early in the second half when Lily Strong broke down the left side, worked past two defenders and delivered a left-footed liner that found its way under a sliding Ella Nye in goal.
It took 13 seconds for Hopkinton to answer. Chase took the kickoff and passed it back to Alex Clarke, then sprinted downfield. Clarke booted the ball ahead to Chase, who tipped it over a defender and moved toward goal. At the top of the box, a defender raced over and pushed the ball away from Chase, but it went right to Izzy Dunne, who drilled a right-footed shot that deflected off the hands of the leaping goalie and into the top left corner.
However, Franklin had its own response, and it was even more immediate. The kickoff was passed back and then slammed 55 yards in the air. It took a hard bounce 15 yards in front of the Hopkinton goal and went over Nye’s head and into the net just seven seconds after Hopkinton’s goal.
About six minutes later, with 23:55 remaining in regulation, Franklin tied the score on a scramble in front following a corner kick.
The winner, a few minutes later, came off the foot of Strong, who outraced the defense in pursuit of a long pass to the left of the goal. Strong put on a nifty move to elude a defender and then pushed the ball past Nye from just a few yards away.



















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