Changes to D2 boys lacrosse could lead to an unpredictable season

For the first time in over a decade, Division II will not be the biggest division in New Hampshire high school boys lacrosse.

With two teams moving up, three moving down, and none coming in, D2 will have just 15 teams for the next two years, the smallest number since 2014. Gone are Windham and Keene-Monadnock to D1 and ConVal, John Stark and Kennett to D3.

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Still in the division, however, are Portsmouth and Derryfield, who have combined to win the last eighth D2 titles. One of them has been in the final every year since 2015, and on five occasions, they’ve played each other in the title game, including the last three.

But that could change this season, as both programs lost some key players from a year ago, and handful of other teams – St. Thomas, Winnacunnet, Timberlane, Hollis Brookline, Oyster River-Newmarket to name a few – return strong rosters that could upend the Clippers and Cougars.

Also new this year are some of the head coaches, as Timberlane, Souhegan, Spaulding and Oyster River-Newmarket all go into the year with new leadership on the sideline.

Favorites

Portsmouth (20-0, D2 champion): The Clippers lost just four seniors to graduation, but three of them were major contributors on the offensive side of the ball.

Portsmouth as a solid core returning, led by seniors Masi Shone and Kai Paterson (goalie) on defense and Ben Purcell and Reilly Collins on attack. Sophomore Nash Conklin also returns on defense while sophomore Sam Biddle will step in at midfield and to handle faceoffs.

Sophomore Henry Purcell and freshman Trevor Sifferlen will also see time at midfield for the Clippers.

St. Thomas (13-5, lost in quarterfinal): The Saints graduated 10 seniors from last year’s team, but return more than enough to go on a run this season.

Leading the way will be senior midfielders Jackson Estes and Finley DeTolla, while senior Aidan Morrison and sophomore Ryan Resch return on attack to give St. Thomas an experienced and high-powered offense.

Sophomore Cooper Copeland will be looked to to step up on defense while sophomore Jake More will step in full time as the starter in goal.

Challengers

Derryfield (17-3, lost in final): The Cougars lost 17 players from a team that reached the final for the eighth time in the last nine seasons. This year, they have a small, but talented group of returners to go with a mix of young players.

Leading the way will be senior RJ Proulx (attack/midfield) and junior Brady Doldo (midfield/defense), seniors Caleb May (defense) and Logan Dyer (midfield) will also look to contribute.

Sophomores Dom Cercone and Ryan Maxwell both return on attack while sophomores Liam England and Jaxon DeYoung will see time in goal.

Winnacunnet (13-6, lost in semifinal): The Warriors graduated 10 seniors after making it to the semifinals for the first time since 2019, with most of the players on defense.

Junior Alec Mitchell returns at midfield and to handle faceoffs while junior Beckett Rath is back on attack. Sophomores Brian McCown, Liam McNally, Spencer Zigler and Burke Spaulding will also see time on offense.

Senior Braden Nowak (SSDM) returns to lead the defense, along with junior Damian Halter.

Contenders

Oyster River-Newmarket (12-6, lost in quarterfinal): Eight players are gone from last year’s team and the Bobcats welcome in a new coach, as Amani Mwingira steps in after serving as an assistant at Laconia.

Despite having a small number of seniors returning, Oyster River-Newmarket has plenty of experience, as a lot of younger players were in the lineup a year ago.

Leading the way will be seniors Cole Norris (goalie) and Sawyer Levesque on defense, while junior Kavi Weber (LSM) also returns. They’ll be joined by senior Ryder Mooers (SSDM), juniors Finn Rice and Cabot Holden-Mount and freshman Tobias Bergeron-Killough (SSDM).

Junior Talon Beyer and sophomore Demitrius Tsakiris return at midfield, along with junior Cole Levesque, who will also handle faceoffs. Juniors Alex Moody and Jadyn Smart are back to lead the attack while sophomores Jeff Keyes and Parker Ouellette will see time on attack and at midfield.

Timberlane (15-4, lost in semifinal): For the first time in a decade, the Owls will have a new coach on the sideline, as Jason Lewis takes over the program.

Timberlane lost nine players from last season’s final four team but return experienced players at key positions, including senior goalie Joseph Hughes, who takes over full time in the crease.

Also back on defense are seniors Trevor Rego and Joseph Cruz, while senior Nick Sinotte and junior Cole Rego will join them. Senior Spencer Munson returns at midfield, where he’ll be joined by juniors Giovanni Recesso, Bradyn Gillespie and Ryan Luedrs and sophomore Gaven Dubois.

Sophomore Mark St. Jean is back to handle faceoffs while juniors Landon Petry and Rocco Psareas return on attack. They’ll be joined by senior Cam Bonfiglio.

Hollis Brookline (10-8, lost in prelim): The Cavaliers lost just five seniors from last season’s playoff team and had a lot of young players gain experience a year ago.

Leading the way this year will be seniors JP Torgersen (midfield) and Deegan Herrera (SSDM) while senior Noah Taylor returns at attack after missing all of last year with an injury.

Also returning at attack are sophomores Mike O’Hearn and Bennett Torgersen while sophomore Oliver Spencer will see time at attack and midfield. Sophomore Vittorio Masoni returns at midfield, and after spending last season at goalie, junior Luke Kinney returns to his midfield position. Freshman Sam Petrella will also see time at midfield.

Sophomore Levi Mitchell steps in at goalie for HB with junior Dillon Kinney and sophomore Patrick Masoni returning on defense. Sophomore Sebastian Smith (LSM) will see time on defense as well.

Goffstown (11-6, lost in quarterfinal): The Grizzlies graduated 10 seniors from a year ago, including their top faceoff guy and their starting goalie.

Goffstown will look to junior Noah Babin to lead the defense while senior Sam Chapman will lead the attack. Freshman Ben Hill will have a chance to contribute on defense and freshman Sean Burnett will see time at midfield and attack and will handle faceoffs.

Dark Horses

Hanover (5-10, lost in prelim): The Bears lost eight seniors to graduation, but have two dozen players returning to the program, including 14 sophomores.

On defense, senior Henry Cotter returns at goalie and he’ll be joined on that side of the ball by seniors Tanner Longmoore and Keegan Murphy, juniors Gabe Clerkin, Phineas Roy-Ollie and John Taylor (SSDM), and sophomores Silas Clifford (LSM), Lou Davydenko (SSDM), Myroslav Davydenko (SSDM), Zach McCarthy (SSDM) and Andre Whyte. Sophomore goalie Ben Parker will also see some time and senior Noi Larusson will be in the mix.

Seniors Schuyler Clapp (attack/midfield) and John Scherer return to lead the attack, along with junior Sam Bagatell and sophomores Michael Anderson, JJ Bornstein, EJ Frechette and Hopper Kelley. Juniors Casper Besana and Jack Meyers and sophomores Hayden Clapp, Jake Rotchford and Trevor Sanders are back at midfield.

A big group of freshmen could see time as well, including Harris Bushell and Andreas Tzilianos on attack; Eoin Goeghegan, Leo Krawitt and Reed Obertin at midfield; and Blake Colla, Geffen Melamut, Sid Makofsky (SSDM) and Peak Temple (LSM) on defense.

Merrimack Valley (4-10): The Pride return eight seniors who are focused on getting the program back into the postseason.

Leading the way on defense will be seniors Jackson Deyermond, Travis Garcia and Colby Scheffer, along with goalie Michael Kingsbury and LSM Jake Leclerc. Junior Carter Garland should also contribute on defense.

Senior midfielders Mike Heine and Matt Lauren also return, along with junior Colin Reardon. Seniors Tyler Carter and Conner Hanson return at attack and sophomore Carter Lankhorst returns to handle faceoffs.

Rest of Field

Kingswood (7-8, lost in prelim): The Knights graduated 10 seniors, almost all of whom played a key role on last year’s playoff team. While Kingswood has good numbers in the program, 20 of those players are sophomores, who will end up split between varsity and JV.

The Knights will look to a handful of returners to lead the way, including seniors Austin Emerson (attack), Greyson Gilpatrick (midfield) and Jacob Brown (defense) and juniors Keller Peacock (midfield) and Ryker Booth (defense).

Kingswood will look to sophomores Mason Kenny, Dean Porter and Micah Peterson to contribute at midfield.

Souhegan (5-13): The Sabers start the year with a new coach, as Rich Luongo steps in to lead Souhegan.

Juniors Reid Kimball and Micah Dibble will lead the defense for the Sabers while seniors Louie Berlack and Matt Mullin will be key on attack. Senior Muse Cross Swartzell will look to lead Souhegan at midfield.

Alvirne (10-8, lost in prelim): The Broncos lost 10 seniors to graduation from the second of back-to-back playoff teams. A handful of experienced players will try to lead a young team this season.

Seniors Chris Darbe and Brody Orr return at midfield while juniors Logan Reynolds and Tommy Barrett are back on attack while freshman Joe Sperazzo will look to contribute. Junior Mike Landmesser will lead the defense.

Pembroke (3-13): The Spartans have a handful of experienced players returning, including seniors Jameson Barnett and Luke Hanson on defense.

Senior Garrett Bishop returns on attack, along with junior Chuckie Braga, while juniors William Chabot and Gabriel Johnson are back at midfield. Junior Jacob Watts and freshman Mason Hurley will see time at midfield as well.

Sophomore Shane Bowen and junior Jake Menczywor (LSM) will also have a chance to contribute on defense.

Spaulding (2-14): Thomas Rup takes over as the new coach of the Red Raiders, as they enter the year ineligible to make the postseason after petitioning down for the start of a new two-year cycle.

Spaulding will look to a trio of seniors to lead the way, with Seth Cortina (midfield/faceoffs), Wade Jones (defense) and Logan Barker (defense) returning. Junior Kyle Hogan (SSDM) and sophomore Jackso Shapleigh will also see time on defense.

Sophomores Logan Hickman (midfield) and Rowan Hughes (attack) will look to contribute on offense, along with freshmen Riley Rup (attack) and Kaleb Baker (attack/faceoffs).

Postseason Predictions

• Teams (10): Derryfield, Goffstown, Hanover, Hollis Brookline, Merrimack Valley, Oyster River-Newmarket, Portsmouth, St. Thomas, Timberlane, Winnacunnet.
• Final four: Derryfield, Portsmouth, St. Thomas, Winnacunnet.
• Championship: St. Thomas over Winnacunnet.
• Offensive Player of the Year: Jackson Estes, St. Thomas.
• Defensive Player of the Year: Masi Shone, Portsmouth.