WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — It was too little, too late for the back-to-back defending VPA Division II state champion Hartford High boys lacrosse team on Saturday, as the Hurricanes could not complete a comeback and suffered their first loss of the season to Harwood, 5-4, in a battle on Saturday at the Alumni Athletic Complex.

These two teams know each other well, as Saturday’s game was a rematch of last year’s D-II state championship game, where the Hurricanes bested the Highlanders, 13-7.

However, unlike last year’s championship bout, the ball struggled to find the back of the Highlanders’ net. Thanks belonged, in part, to Harwood senior netminder Evan Andrews, who stopped 15 Hurricane shots and notched his 400th career save during the matchup.

“We were getting good looks, but Evan is a good goalie, and we didn’t make the most of our opportunities early on,” said Hartford coach Grant Whiteway.

Both teams had their chances in the first quarter, and there was nice back-and-forth action, though no goals on either side were scored.

The Highlanders got the scoring going early in the second quarter with a goal less than two minutes in. Then, in just over a minute of in-game time, Harwood struck again to take a 2-0 lead.

As the quarter went on, Hartford had some chances to trim its deficit, but Andrews repeatedly came up with huge saves. Before both teams took a break at halftime, the Highlanders hit Hartford with two goals within 25 seconds to take a 4-0 lead into halftime.

“Our guys always fight; we know they’re going to fight til the end,” said Whiteway.

And fight is precisely what the Hurricanes did in the second half.

While Harwood extended its lead to 5-0 early in the third quarter, the defending champs finally punched back with a goal from junior Owen Mock on an assist from sophomore Owen McMahon.

Momentum seemed to be building for the Hurricanes to close out the third quarter. They notched another goal to make the game 5-2 when freshman Isaac Tane beat Andrews to a ball in the corner of the field and sent it to junior Tyler Spaulding, who put the ball in the back of the net.

Unfortunately for Hartford, Harwood seemed to steady itself in the final frame as the Hurricanes still trailed 5-2 with under 3½ minutes left in the game.

However, with just over three minutes left, the Hurricanes took advantage of an inexplicable turnover in Harwood’s own end, which set up junior Thomas Thorburn for a goal to bring his team within two.

Just minutes later, it looked as if the Hurricanes were on their way to tying up this game and keeping their unbeaten record intact. After a Herculean effort to weave through Highlanders’ defenders, senior Cavan Benjamin-Potwin scored to cut Harwood’s lead to 5-4.

The Hurricanes did not regain possession in the Highlanders’ defensive end until there were about nine seconds left in the game, and after a desperation shot went wide, Hartford’s comeback officially came up short.

As the defending champs ramp up for the playoffs, Whiteway spoke highly of his team’s effort and noted that information was gleaned from the matchup.

“Our kids always play hard; they’re focused at practice,” he said.

“They played super hard today. We learned a little bit today about what we’ve got to work on.”

Not only was Whiteway complimentary of his team’s effort but also of his seniors, who he called tone-setters. The group was honored before the game.

“This group is awesome, and they come to work every day, and they earn everything they get, and they have for the last four years,” he said.

“I’m proud of those kids. They work hard and they’re a blast to coach.”

The Hurricanes dropped to 12-1 on the year with the loss and will shift their focus to two road dates to finish the season, a matchup with Burlington on Wednesday and another against Milton on Saturday.

“We’ve got a big stretch coming up here. … It will be two more competitive games and we’ll prep for those just like we did for this one and every other game and turn the page and learn from today and keep getting better,” said Whiteway.

Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at mcoughlin@vnews.com.