With less than a half-second left in the second quarter of his team’s VPA Division II boys lacrosse semifinal on Wednesday, Hartford senior attackman Tyler Spaulding became just the third Hurricane to reach the career 100-point mark, joining his brother Ryan Spaulding, who reached it in 2024.
Spaulding’s moment capped off a dominant first half for second-seed Hartford, leading to a 10-0 halftime lead, and the Hurricanes carried that momentum to a 15-3 rout of No. 3 Milton at the Alumni Athletic Complex in a contest halted by rain for an hour.
“It’s surreal, really. Coming into this game, I didn’t think I was four (points) away,” Spaulding said on getting to the 100-point mark. “My brother’s up there, so it’s great to be up there with him and all the other 13 people that are up there. It’s an honor, honestly.”
For coach Grant Whiteway, Hartford succeed through preparation.
“We had a game plan going in, and the kids were just so bought in,” Whiteway said. “We’ve got such great leadership at the top with our senior class, and it’s trickled down to the sophomores and the juniors all the way down to the freshmen. So it’s been fun. It’s a great group of kids.”
Hartford senior attackman Thomas Thorburn scored on an impressive, unassisted jump shot while well defended about a minute into the game to get the Canes (14-1) started. Six minutes later, senior midfielder Owen Mock scored off an assist from Thorburn, making it 2-0.
Spaulding scored his first goal of the night shortly after that off the assist from Thorburn, making it 3-0. With just 0.4 seconds left in the quarter, sophomore midfielder Isaac Tane scored, falling on the fast break after a Milton missed shot.
In the second period, it took until the 5:22 mark until Hartford junior attackman Owen McMahon scored with an assist from Spaulding. Junior midfielder Rex Banning bloowed up less than 30 seconds later, making it 6-0.
McMahon scored once more, this time on a beautiful underhand shot. Banning and Tane added to the total with goals, both assisted by Thorburn, making it 9-0.
Then, with less than a minute to go, junior defenseman Jackson Hessler secured the ball off a great defensive play and threw it to Thorburn, who found Spaulding open on the right crease for his 100th point.
Hartford took a timeout to celebrate this accomplishment.
“He knows every offensive set we run like the back of his hand, and he’s done a great job for us over the four years,” Whiteway said on the impact Spaulding has on this team. “I’m proud to see him reach that milestone.”
Milton scored its first goal of the night just under two minutes into the second half. McMahon would score off the fast break two minutes later, which would be followed by two goals from Milton, making it 11-3. Thorburn would score his second unassisted with about a minute left in the frame, making it 12-3 going into the fourth.
In the fourth, goals from sophomore attackman Kaleb Sanderson, freshman midfielder Isaiah Mock and junior midfielder Joey Gardner — assists to McMahon and Thorburn on the first two — sealed the game for the Hurricanes as they advanced to the state championship.
Senior goalie Graham Thompson finished the game with six saves. Junior backup goalie Oliver Burkland worked the fourth quarter and wasn’t required to record any saves.
Senior midfielder Connor Peyton dominated faceoffs, winning 11 to just four losses, and junior midfielder Liam Dube won three.
The Hurricanes will travel to face top-seeded Harwood on Sunday at the University of Vermont’s Virtue Field for their fourth consecutive championship game appearance. Earlier in the season, Hartford defeated Highlanders 8-4.