Members of the Hopkinton Youth Lacrosse select team state champions were: front, Lucas Fournier; kneeling (from left), Greyson Grove, Bennett Gilbreath, Vihaan Botla, Paxton Choi, Austin Lahair, Matt Dacey, Carson O’Donnell, Landon Weable and Jack Alexandre; players standing (from left), Nolan Oram, Cal Chewning, Drew Howard, Finn Thaisz, Henry Diune, Nate Gregg, Brendan Foutz, Ryan Quinn, Tyler Scherer, Michael Mathot, Colin Wilson, Dylan DeCosta and RJ Gibson; and coaches Will Abbott (far left), Mike MacDonald (back center) and Bro Ford (back right).

When coach Will Abbott met with his players at halftime of the Mass. Youth Lacrosse Division 1 state title game on June 12, the Hopkinton Youth Lacrosse select team was facing a situation unlike any it had encountered before.

“I think that was the first time we were trailing all year,” Abbott said.

Down 4-3 against a strong Reading team, Hopkinton rallied for seven unanswered goals and emerged with a 10-4 victory under the lights at Harvard Stadium for the program’s first-ever state championship.

“It’s a credit to the kids,” Abbott said. “They worked really hard for the couple of months we were together. At that age, it’s not always about wins and losses. We tried to focus on the development and making sure the kids had fun, but we were fortunate to have a lot of success.”

The team of 14 fifth grade students and nine sixth graders finished the regular season 7-0 playing in MYL’s top division. The perfect record secured the first overall seed in the playoffs. After a pair of tournament wins at home, Hopkinton advanced to the title game and the showdown with Reading.

The championship comes in the first season at the helm for Abbott, who played for this very program when he was in middle school before playing four years at HHS and collegiately at Quinnipiac. Abbott, who was assisted by volunteer coaches Bro Ford and Mike MacDonald, said he had the benefit of a team filled with experienced players.

“A lot of the kids, if not all of them, play club lacrosse almost all year round,” he said. “They get a lot of reps, so when they come to us in the spring, they are very prepared.”

Abbott said the players enjoyed getting the chance to host two playoff games at the Fruit Street fields and enjoyed the benefit of a strong home crowd before playing at Harvard.

“That was a super cool experience,” Abbott said of the state championship game. “It meant a lot to them.”

After a season of being the top team, the coach said the title tilt was the first time his players had to take a breather at halftime and assess what they needed to do to bounce back in the second half.

Abbott said he had a good feeling about his team from the very start of the season.

“From day one you kind of saw that this was a group that is pretty talented and skilled for their age,” he said. “We were not looking too far in advance, but I knew we wanted to be successful. When we met for that first day, they were prepared and ready to go.”

Added Abbott, “I had a feeling we were going to do well for ourselves. But to win it all, that’s just the cherry on top.”