D2 Boys Lacrosse Preview: Derryfield at the top of big field of contenders

The last time a Division II game was played, the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team was beating Winnacunnet to win its fourth Division II title in a row.

Despite graduating two senior classes that played a key role in that 2019 championship, the Cougars return enough talent and experience to be considered among the teams to beat in the division this year. That said, Derryfield still likely has more question marks going into the season than usual, just not as many as some opponents.

Winnacunnet and Windham both have a solid core returning that should put both in the hunt for the division title, as does Timberlane, which moves back down to D2 after spending the last two-year cycle in Division I. St. Thomas, Portsmouth, Hollis Brookline and Goffstown all lost a lot over the last two years, but should be competitive with a younger core, while Oyster River-Newmarket looks like a team that could take a big step forward.

Also moving into the division are Keene, which was also in D1 for the last cycle, and Hanover, which had played up in D1 for a long time.

Favorite

• Derryfield: The Cougars still have a good core of returning players from the 2019 championship team, including seniors Chaz Dean (middie), Ryan Etzo (attack) and Will Mancini (defense). Senior Kyle Carpentier will step in to take faceoffs and play as a two-way middie, while Cole Giersch will split time at midfield and attack. Seniors Ryan Caparrelli, Jaxon Snyder and Liam Hill will split time in goal for Derryfield. Junior Evan Cote and sophomore Quinn Silvio will be a couple of many newcomers who will be looked to to contribute.

Challengers

• Winnacunnet: The Warriors made their first trip to the final two years ago and they still have a handful of players remaining, including senior attack Jack Ellis and Ben Chase and senior middies Ben Merrimack and Cole Fisher. Both Ellis (Nichols College) and Fisher (Wentworth College) are playing in college. Also back are Lance Trinceri, who will handle faceoffs, and goalie Carter Renaud, both of whom are seniors. The defense will be led by Shawn Wooles, Nico Zaino and James O’Hara.
• Windham: The Jaguars return one of the division’s top players in senior middie Nate LeVine, who is going to play at Syracuse University next season. Also back are junior attack Alex Ryan and senior middie Sawyer Hall, while sophomore goalie Chase Hunt and junior Patrick Furtado will lead a young defense.
• Timberlane: The Owls have more depth on the roster, despite missing out on last year, with two key players on defense leading the way in senior Billy Savage, who will play at Le Moyne College next year, and sophomore goalie Brady Marston. The midfield will be led by two-way senior Jack Noyes and junior Ethan Gerry. Seniors Ryan Freeman and Nick Matthews give Timberlane size and toughness at attack while junior Eric George is poised to have a breakout year on offense for the Owls.

Contenders

• Hollis Brookline: The Cavaliers are on their fourth head coach in four years, as former Bishop Guertin standout Dom St. Laurent takes over this spring. HB has a trio of seniors returning who will look to lead the way including Hunter Hudzik (Kings College) and Joe O’Riley (Plymouth State) on attack and Scott Walsh (St. Joseph’s College) in goal. Junior middie Jake Roy and junior defenseman Grant Batson will help provide some leadership and stability for HB, which should be a well-balanced team on both ends of the field.
• St. Thomas: The Saints will be a younger team, with just two seniors and four juniors on the roster. One of those seniors is goalie Eli Borrin, who will look to lead a defense that includes sophomore Caden Caswell and Tyler Hamel. Junior Marcus Broom and sophomore Anthony DiMartino will lead the offense at attack while senior Ben Stonis and junior Lincoln Stone will be key at midfield.
• Portsmouth: The Clippers lost over a dozen from last year’s roster to graduation or prep school. They’ll look to senior captains Owen Ingwersen (defense), Henry Fitzpatrick (defense) and Danny Bottrill (midfield) to provide leadership. Senior Houston Heidenger and juniors Dom Maldari, Dylan Roelofs, Mike Durkin and Keghan Myers return at midfield while junior Michael O’Neil is back on attack and junior Skyler Mikalietes returns in goal. Portsmouth will also look for contributions from junior goalie Nate Amend, sophomore middie Baden Paterson and freshmen middies Zach Amend and Nick Smith.
• Goffstown: The Grizzlies return only a handful of players with varsity experience, but one of those is senior goalie Grady Chretien. Also back is senior middie John Erwin, who will likely handle faceoffs for Goffstown. Senior attack Kyle Auger and senior LSM John Flanagan will also be looked to for leadership early in the year.

Dark Horse

• Oyster River-Newmarket: The Bobcats got a boost in numbers after forming a co-op with Newmarket, and on top of that, the team returns its core players from the 2019 season. Leading the way on offense will be senior Hayden Marshall, who will be joined by junior Marc Parsons and freshman Jack Failla. ORN has a solid midfield back, with starters Emerson Moore (senior) and Gabe Goodwin (junior) joined by senior Matt Koener and junior Keegan Horne, along with newcomers in juniors Jack Lyczak and Jack Caldicott and sophomores Sam Guilmette, Lance Abbott and Andres Alcocer and freshman Evan Plourde. The defense will be led by senior Ethan Todd and junior LSM AMani Harvey, while junior Zach Serrano is also back on defense. Sophomore Curtis Leitz and freshman Aidan Golding will also see time on defense and sophomore Finn Mason will take over in goal.
• Hanover: The Marauders have been competitive in D1 for the most of the program’s history, but they enter this year without a lot of varsity experience. Senior attack Noah Fahey started as a sophomore for Hanover and will lead the team on offense, along with junior middie Seamus Murphy, who also served as a captain for the football team. Senior Brett Simmons will be key for Hanover at both ends of the field as a two-way midfielder.

Keep an Eye On

• Alvirne: The Broncos have a good sized group of sophomores and freshmen, but do return senior Jared Graham, their leading scorer from 2019. Juniors Eric Allard and Calvin Durham will be looked to to step up this year, while freshman Ayden Kelly will get the starting spot in goal.
• Coe-Brown: The Bears will be junior-heavy this season, with David Lee (attack), Alex Knight (middie), Aaron Bono (middie) and James Thomas (goalie) leading the way. Wells Lambert is the lone senior on the team while Aidan Lindsey (defense) and Connor Joy (midfield/attack) will lead a group of 13 sophomores, many of whom could contribute this season.
• Spaulding: First-year head coach Brandon Dube takes over a team that will have some great senior leadership behind Jaric Levesque and Kevin Golightly on offense. The defense will be led by seniors Brandon Grondin, Ethan Hunt and John Gravelise. The Raiders will have a rotation in goal, with Hunter Camire and Garrett Gauthier splitting time between the pipes and at other positions on the field.
• Merrimack Valley: The Pride return two talented seniors in Noah Miller and Andrew Beck. Miller will be all over the field for Merrimack Valley, seeing time at attack and as a two-way middie. Beck will lead the defense as an LSM and can also step up and join the offense when needed.
• Keene: The Blackbirds return to D2 and will look to captains Will Levesque, Ethan Russell, Cooper Kennedy and Brennan Lilly to lead them through the season.
• Kennett: The Eagles will be lead by captains Bobby Graustein, Gaven Gagne and Dalton Petell. Kennett also has a good group of returning players, including Gaven Eldridge-Ferry, Bryson Wrobleski, Brady Shaw, Tanner Bennett, Atticus Fayle, Evan Fisette, Braden Santuccio, Sean Morgan and Ethan Baillargeon. Newcomers Kyle Sterns, Jacob Infinger, Carver Petell, Isaiah Mojica, Robbie Murphy and Sean Carrier will be looked at to contribute.

Rest of the Field

• Kingswood
• Bow
• Manchester Central
• Manchester Memorial-West
• ConVal
• Pembroke
• John Stark

Editor’s Note: With an open playoff divided into regional brackets, instead of predictions for who will make the playoffs and the final four, below is a projected top five and a prediction for the championship game.

Top Five

1. Derryfield
2. Winnacunnet
3. Windham
4. Hollis Brookline
5. Oyster River-Newmarket

Championship

• Derryfield over Windham

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Jack Ellis, Winnacunnet

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Billy Savage, Timberlane

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