BURLINGTON – Death, taxes, Walpole.

With a third-quarter goal to finally break past a standout defensive job from No. 2 Franklin and goalie Devon Barry (13 saves), the top-seeded Walpole field hockey team produced just enough offense Saturday morning for a 1-0 win in the Div. 1 state final at Burlington High School, securing a state-best 15th Div. 1 state title and a third straight championship.

Walpole was the favorite all year to accomplish a three-peat last accomplished by the program in the 1994-96 seasons, well before its 20 seniors were born yet. Four of those seniors – Kate Schneider, Kendal Cusack, Emily Hagan and Grace Hagan – played a part in all three titles of this one, and Cusack assisted Emily Hagan on the lone goal.

With five straight Div. 1 final appearances from the program, reaching the title game is all they’ve ever known. And that experience played a major role in breaking through in their last game together.

“Those four have been here four straight times, and this is their third win,” said Walpole head coach Jen Quinn. “We had a little blip of franticness, but they were composed. They knew what to do, they were confident in themselves. I just think it’s that – the athleticism, the competitiveness, all that kind of stuff they get from being here time after time – that’s the difference.”

Walpole goalie Nora Cummings, right, is congratulated by teammate Grace Hagan as the final whistle blows to defeat Franklin in the Div. 1 state title game in Burlington. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

“After the last two years, winning twice in a row, I did not want to end on a loss,” Emily Hagan added. “We got spoiled the last couple years. Especially with this group, and there’s so many of us. We’re all so close. So to end right felt good.”

Barry stood on her head for much of the way for Franklin, which made its first appearance in the state final. Her eight saves in the first half paired with a strong defensive job from Ava Lucenta, Jossie Camp, Clara Blongastainer inside the circle on numerous other threats the Porkers presented, carrying a scoreless affair into the break.

Frustration and stress increased for Walpole as time ticked on without a goal, but its seventh corner produced the game-winner. Cusack cleanly received the insert at the top, sent it over to Emily Hagan at the left wing, and she flicked it aiming for the far post with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

“We do that (corner) a lot, actually,” Hagan said. “I’m not really aiming for the goal, I’m more aiming for the far post. That one just happened to go in, so it felt good.”

Urgency certainly picked up as Franklin continued to stave off wave after wave of pressure, and responded with a few promising offensive threats of its own. The Panthers drew two corners, and one had a shot roll just wide of the goal.

Walpole’s Kate Schneider, left, and Franklin’s Clara Blongastainer race one another to get to the ball during the fourth quarter. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Keeping a cool head was key for Walpole.

“I feel like we just kept persevering and pushing through, and made sure that we really executed on (the corners),” Cusack said. “So, I feel like after a while, we really knew we had to get it in the back of the net.”

“We came into this knowing that they had good defense,” Emily Hagan added. “There was a focus on staying composed, staying calm. Just know that we were in their end a lot, just keep pushing and one of them is going to go through eventually.”

With much of the group graduating, securing a three-peat was a special send-off. Watertown and Uxbridge are the only other programs in MIAA state championship history to win three straight.

“I definitely think it’s really sentimental for all of us,” Cusack said. “We’re all a big team, and we’re all a family, so I feel like we all wanted to go out with a big win at the end.