CONTOOKCOOK – Amelia Thomas is a relative newcomer when it comes to playing on the defensive side of the ball.

But that didn’t stop the Hopkinton sophomore from making perhaps the biggest play of her lacrosse team’s win over rival Bow on Tuesday.

With less than 15 seconds remaining and the Hawks clinging to a one-goal lead, Thomas intercepted a pass on a free play just outside the crease that was intended for the Falcons’ leading scorer, Taylor Darrell. Thomas quickly took off up field as the clock continued to wind and sent a lengthy pass to teammate Amelia Bassett over midfield.

Bassett took over from there, firing one last shot into the back of the net to clinch a 17-15 victory and Hopkinton’s first-ever win over the Falcons under Coach Tim Bassett.

“That was a very intense ending,” Coach Bassett said after handing Bow (2-1) its first loss of the season. “Amelia Thomas made that awesome play to get the ball and move it up, and Amelia Bassett just put it away from there. That was a nice sigh of relief right there, for sure.”

Coach Bassett wasn’t always stressed during the game’s waning moments.

His Hawks (2-1) held what felt like a comfortable 16-13 lead with less than 1:30 to play before Darrell converted her seventh and final goal to pull the visiting team within two. Then, less than 20 seconds later, the Bow bench was sent into a frenzy as Maggie Vogt’s offering slipped past the stick of Elizabeth Berliner (eight saves) to make it a one-score game.

The Falcons continued to pour it on from there, and seemed poised to force overtime when a holding call set up a free play in front of the Hopkinton net with 15 ticks left. Luckily for the Hawks, however, Thomas forced her way into the passing lane to break up the play and set up the game’s final goal before time expired.

“This is her first year playing defense and she’s just taken to it perfectly,” Bassett said of Thomas, who broke up several other scoring chances during the contest. “She’s in great position all of the time, and she anticipates passes. She’s just a natural in that role.”

Hopkinton headed into halftime down one, and traded goals with the Falcons for the first eight minutes of the second. But a stretch of five straight Hawks scores from Taylor Signor (two goals), Ivanna Doval and Amelia Bassett (seven goals) gave the home team a 14-10 advantage near the midway point of the half.

Even so, the Falcons refused to quit as Darrell scored three more times and added an assist in the game’s final 10 minutes to keep things interesting. Vogt (three goals), Sofia Darrell (two goals), Elysia Woody, Dillon Hicks and Bridget Erhenberg also scored for Bow.

“I think it’s a good wake up call basically,” said Bow Coach Christiane Raabe, whose team will try and bounce back April 28 when it hosts Lebanon (0-1). “I think they thought they could come back, and they just didn’t have enough time. It’s early in the season so I’m not too worried about it. It will give practice a new purpose tomorrow.”

Hopkinton, who also saw goals from Lyndon Flanagan (four), Ellie Morrall, Ellie Owen and Chloe Wood, will try and earn a second straight win for the first time this season Friday when it travels to face Con-Val (1-0). But until then, Coach Bassett said he doesn’t plan on letting his team forget what it accomplished against a perennial Division III contender.

“Bow is a team we’ve lost to every year I’ve been here – we’ve never beat them – so this was great to come out on top,” he said. “We’ll see how we measure up with some of the other top teams – Kearsarge, St. Thomas and Laconia of course – and who knows where we can take it.”