A way-too-early look at the 2027 girls lacrosse season

For the second year in a row, the seacoast was the hotbed for high school girls lacrosse in New Hampshire, with Portsmouth (Division I), Winnacunnet (D2) and St. Thomas (D3) all repeating as champions in their respective divisions.

With a new two-year cycle set to begin for the NHIAA next school year, there will be a lot of change on the horizon. About the only thing known for sure is that only one of those three teams will be able to win another title in the division it played this season.

The plan for girls (and boys) lacrosse was to move all teams that are classified as D1 schools into the top division, giving it 20 teams for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. That means Winnacunnet, Goffstown, Timberlane, Spaulding, Alvirne, Merrimack and Keene-Monadnock, while Manchester Central-West, Manchester Memorial and Oyster River-Newmarket are expected to petition down to D2.

There will also be a number of teams making the move up to D2 from D3, with John Stark, Coe-Brown, Plymouth, Bow, Milford, Kennett and ConVal coming up, while St. Thomas is expected to petition up. Lebanon is expected to petition down to stay in D3 along with all the other remaining teams.

Division I

An already competitive division is adding three of the four teams that made the semifinals in D2 in 2026, but will anyone be able to catch Portsmouth?

Since 2006, the Clippers have won 12 championships and been to a title game four other times, in all three divisions. Two of those titles came in D3 and seven of them in D2 before the last three in a row in D1, and while Portsmouth again loses a senior class that has multiple girls who will go on to play D1 in college, the pieces are there to continue the run next season.

Souhegan should also return a lot of the roster which finished as the runner-up in D1 each of the last two seasons. The Sabers had a strong junior and sophomore class in 2026 and were the only team to stay close with the Clippers all season.

Pinkerton lost key players to injury during the spring, and assuming full health, along with who else should be returning, the Astros will threaten to be among the top two. Winnacunnet, which played six games against D1 teams (going 3-3) this spring, also looks like it will have enough returning to be a contender.

Exeter will have holes to fill but had a young core that should return, while Timberlane, Goffstown and Merrimack will be in similiar positions going into the year. Bedford and Londonderry lots key seniors but had underclassmen also contribute and should continue to grow, while Nashua South should have almost its entire team returning.

With 20 teams expected to be in the division, the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule for the postseason means that 14 teams would make the playoffs.

Too-early playoff predictions (14): Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Goffstown, Londonderry, Merrimack, Nashua South, Pinkerton, Portsmouth, Souhegan, Timberlane, Winnacunnet.

Division II

With no seniors on its roster in 2026, and its runner-up finish, its hard not to call Hanover the too-early favorite in the division. The Bears should have a strong group of rising seniors returning who have now reached the final four and championship game as sophomores and juniors.

St. Thomas, Bow and John Stark were all final four teams in D3 last season, and should be able to compete right away in D2. St. Thomas will have to replace some key seniors, but should have a lot returning, while Bow and John Stark lose only a couple of seniors and likely will have a strong core returning.

Merrimack Valley and Hollis Brookline both had to replace big senior classes last year and were still able to make the playoffs, and should have enough returning to do so again. Coe-Brown has been on the rise in D3, and with who the Bears should have back, they’ll likely continue that, while Kennett is coming off its best season, and despite graduating a number of seniors, should have enough returning to be in the mix.

Central-West, Memorial and Oyster River-Newmarket would be ineligible for the postseason in 2027 for petitioning down. Despite that, they would still be counted toward the 70-percent rule, meaning 11 teams would make the playoffs.

Too-early playoff predictions (11): Bow, Coe-Brown, Hanover, Hollis Brookline, John Stark, Kennett, Kingswood, Merrimack Valley, Milford, Plymouth, St. Thomas.

Division III

With just 13 teams remaining in the division, things could be wide open in the first season of the cycle.

Hopkinton reached the final four in 2026, but while the Hawks graduated a significant number of seniors who contributed, they should have enough returning to be among the early favorites.

Derryfield and Gilford each had a young roster in 2026 and should both continue to grow while Laconia could take the next step despite also graduating a good number of seniors. Trinity and Pelham didn’t lose much to graduation but both will have to replace their leading scorers.

With its expected petition down, Lebanon will be ineligible for the playoffs in 2027, but the 70-percent rule would give the division nine playoff teams.

Too-early playoff predicitions (9): Bishop Brady, Campbell Derryfield, Gilford, Hopkinton, Kearsarge, Laconia, Pelham, Trinity.

Only 37 weeks until the start of the 2027 preseason.