The Mt. Hope High School boys' lacrosse team players and coaches entered the 2025 campaign with their eyes squarely on the proverbial prize, as in with the aim of capturing the Division III league championship at season's end.

The Huskies have ample reason for being so ebullient. They return just about every key contributor from a squad that went 8-6 in the regular season a year ago, then played eventual league runner-up Smithfield tight before falling in the semifinals. The Sentinels, who shared first place in the D-III standings with Westerly last year, lost to said Bulldogs in the 2024 title game.

Both Smithfield and Westerly were realigned up into Division II this spring. In their place dropped Coventry while the Division IV finalists from a year ago, Lincoln High and North Smithfield, have moved up to D-III. Ponaganset, which went 2-12 last season, dropped down to D-IV.

The Huskies and Narragansett, which also went 8-6 in 2024 and lost to Westerly in the other league semi, are considered by most, including MHHS head coach Jay Spina, as the teams to beat this spring.

"I feel good about us," said Spina, who is embarking on his 15th season at the lead of the program. He's assisted by two former Huskies in James Olson, the Mt. Hope offensive coordinator, and Zach Burke, who directs the defense.

Asked if he believed his team was of championship caliber, Spina continued. "That's what we're shooting for. We think we're capable of that."

The Huskies are quite capable in all three areas of the field. They're led up front by junior and leading returning scorer Charlie Knapman, who paced Mt. Hope a year ago with 43 goals, 23 assists and 66 points. Knapman, however, has been sidelined early with a minor ankle sprain. He was expected back in the lineup sometime this week.

Junior Ben Browne, off a 28-goal season, also returns to the attack as does senior Will Stimpson, who was second to Knapman last spring with 19 assists. They're joined by an impactful freshman, Brayden Vales.

In the midfield are primary face-off man junior Aidan Pereira, junior Nathan Carpenter and classmate Aedan Nelson. Pereira also plays as a long-stick middie at times. His younger brother, sophomore Ian Pereira, also takes face-offs and sees time on attack.

A second offensive midfield unit includes sophomores Jack Godbout, Noah Sweeney and Emerson Torrey. A distinct defensive midfield group is composed of juniors Tommy Loiselle, Luke Kennedy and senior Maddox Canario.

Also, Knapman, Browne, Vales, Carpenter and Nelson are the man-up attack.

The back line is led by junior and returning starting goalie Ethan Labollita, whom Spina said is "the consummate goalie. He's a little crazy and he doesn't give up." The defensive group is paced by junior Sam Grantham along with sophomores Matt Thibaudeau and Adam Matloob.

Knapman, Browne, Grantham and LaBollita are the captains of a varsity team that totals some 30 players, well above where the Huskies were only a few years ago out of the pandemic. Then, Spina returned to the field with just 14 athletes, that numbered remained in the teams for a few more seasons before Mt. Hope began receiving an influx of players from the Kickemuit Middle School program led by Steve Knapman.

"Last year we were a predominantly freshmen and sophomore team," Spina explained. "This year we bring all those kids back and we've added nine really good freshmen. We're still a young team, but the kids are developing at a faster rate because they have the experience playing for Steve."

Now with meaningful knowledge at the varsity level, the Huskies remain not the biggest team, height or weight-wise, though they're fast, quick and skilled, Spina said. And they also feed off of, utilize each other's abilities.

"These kids work very well together. No one tries to do things by themselves," Spina added. "We're small, but we fight. We don't back down from anyone."

That stick-to-itiveness gives the coach and his club the confidence they have what it takes to not only once again reach the league playoff semifinals, but go a couple of steps farther and take the title.

"That's our goal," Spina said. "Since we first met at the beginning of the year our goal is to make it to the championship game and win it all. That's what we're playing for right now."

The Huskies entered last week with 17 games remaining on its 18-game schedule, which began recently with a 12-4 victory over Cranston West in a crossover contest against the D-II Falcons. Brown had five goals and three assists, Carpenter three and two, Vales two and one and Pereira one and one. Sweeney had the other goal. Stimpson had two helpers. LaBollita made 10 saves. Pereira won 14 of 18 face-offs.

After hosting Burrillville on April 1, Mt. Hope traveled to Westerly on April 3, headed to North Smithfield on April 7, played in East Providence against the Providence Country Day/St. Raphael co-op on April 9, before returning home to face Coventry at the Naomi Street Field on Friday night, April 11, at 6 o'clock.

— East Bay Media Group and eastbayri.com contributing photographer Julie Furtado shot the accompanying gallery of photos.