D2 Boys Lacrosse Preview: Familiar faces looking for a return to the top

The Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse team has been no stranger to success in Division II over the last half decade.

While the Clippers may not have been at the top of anyone’s preseason list in 2021, they did finish the year there, as Portsmouth beat Timberlane in the final for the program’s first title.

The Clippers won’t be able to hide as this season gets underway, and a familiar foe looks ready to step up to challenge Portsmouth. After missing the title game for the first time since moving up to D2 in 2015, Derryfield has the offensive firepower to make a run at another title.

No one will forget the run Timberlane went on to reach the final, and the Owls have the talent back to do it again, while Windham, Winnacunnet, Kingswood, Oyster River-Newmarket, St. Thomas and Hollis Brookline should all be in the mix.

With John Stark unable to field a varsity team again this season, D2 will have 20 teams for the 2022 campaign, with 14 teams advancing to the postseason.

Favorites

• Portsmouth: While the Clippers took some hits from graduation and prep schools, there is enough returning from last year’s championship team to keep Portsmouth at the top. That includes 15 seniors, many of whom were contributors a year ago, including middies Dom Maldari, Mike O’Neil and Keghan Myers. They’ll be joined by senior attackman Dylan Roelofs and sophomore middies Zac Amend and Nick Smith, who also takes faceoffs for Portsmouth. Senior goalies Skyler Mikolaities and Nathan Amend are both back as are senior LSM Max Brown and senior defender Peter Wool. Junior transfer Keigan Delisle and freshman Ben Purcell will also be looked to for contributions while freshman Masi Shone will see time on defense.
• Derryfield: The Cougars had a young team a year ago with enough seniors to carry them to the final four. This year, Derryfield has more experience and a strong class of juniors and sophomores to lead the way, starting with what could be one of the top offenses in the state. Returning are junior middie Quinn Silvio and sophomores Chili Cabot and Alex Murray at attack, while juniors Tate Flint and Ethan Flanagan transferred in and will be part of the mix. The defense will look to junior Dugan Brewer-Little to lead the way early, while sophomore goalie Parker Lediedz will help Derryfield try to replace last year’s goalie trio of Jaxon Snyder, Ryan Caparrelli and Liam Hill.

Challengers

• Timberlane: The Owls turned in the best season in program history in 2021, reaching the title game for the first time, where they came up short against Portsmouth. While Timberlane did take a hit with graduation and off-season injuries, there is plenty returning to keep the Owls near the top of the division. That starts with junior goalie Brady Martson, who will have a defense in front of him led by senior Cole Newman and sophomore Gary Shivell. The offense is deep with the return of seniors Eric George and Ethan Gerry and junior Braiden Bowman at attack. Middies Kyle Shaw (senior) and Jack Condon (sophomore) also return.
• Windham: The Jaguars didn’t lose much in terms of numbers, but they lost a lot of offense with the graduation of Nate LeVine and Sawyer Hall. Senior Alex Ryan is back to try to keep Windham at that level offensively, and he’ll be joined by seniors Evan Conley and Matthew O’Connor and junior Drew Denton. Senior goalie Jackson Milano takes over full time this year and he’ll have senior Pat Furtado, sophomore Andrew Trudel, senior Blake Bazin (middie) and senior Adam Burke (LSM) in front of him.
• Kingswood: The Knights had one of their best seasons in recent history, getting to the final four in 2021 before falling to Timberlane. They return a solid senior class and their stength appears to be on defense, starting with goalie Garrison Hendrickson. Joining him is Carter Morrissey, who is a four-year starter, and Quinn Lucas, both of whom are captains. The offense will be led by attackman Myles Mayhew and Gage Lamontagne, who is also a captain. Sophomore Will Crane and junior Tristan Taatjes will also contribute at midfield while junior Cullan Davey is poised for a big year on defense.
• Oyster River-Newmarket: The Bobcats lost only four seniors, but all left big shoes to fill this season. ORN will have junior goalie Finn Mason returning and he’ll be joined on defense by junior Curtis Leitz, senior Zach Serrano and senior Amani Harvey (LSM). Alex Closson (senior), Chris Piller (senior), Jon Buteau (sophomore) and Aidan Golding (sophomore) also return on defense. Seniors Gabe Goodwin and Jake Lyczak and junior Sam Guilmette will lead the midfield while senior Keegan Horne and sophomore Evan Plourde also return. Senior Marc Parsons and sophomore Jake Failla will be joined at attack by sophomore Pearson Stiles.

Contenders

• Winnacunnet: The Warriors will lean on their experience on defense early one, with seniors Nico Zaino, Elijah Garafalo and Shawn Wooles returning on that side of the ball. Senior Naish Kelly steps in as the starter in goal while senior Cooper Kinnaly and junior Jake Magri return at LSM. Senior Colin Kimball returns on offense after he missed time due to injury last year, and junior Caleb White looks to build off a big season. Brothers Tucker and Levon McCann return at midfield for the Warriors while Ryan Ciolfi and Tanyon Ziolkowski will be called upon to contribute on offense.
• St. Thomas: The Saints had just two seniors on last year’s roster and return a big group for first-year head coach Scott Singer. Senior Marcus Broom and junior Anthony DiMartino will lead the St. Thomas offense along with junior Finn Connor. Sophomore Eli Allaire will take over in goal for the Saints.
• Hollis Brookline: The Cavaliers only graduated five seniors, but all were key to last year’s team. With a big senior class returning, HB has experience coming back, led by senior middie Jake Roy and junior middie Tommy Anderson. Junior Ben Petrella and senior Colin McGary will lead the defense while sophomores Ben Dufoe and Connor Cook will be looked as to contribute. Freshmen JP Torgerson (middie) and Noah Taylor (middie/attack) will have a shot at contributing to the varsity as well.
• Coe-Brown: The Bears lost just one starter from last year and have a big junior class to compliment returning seniors. David Lee (senior) will lead the attack along with junior Landon Rafael, while senior middies Alex Knight and Aaron Bono will also contribute on offense. Juniors Drew Clinch and Connor Strum are also expected to have greater roles on attack. Juniors Aidan Lindsey, Jack Whitcher and Matt Labrecque return to lead the defense in front of standout senior goalie James Thomas. Junior Connor Joy will also see time on defense while freshman Ryan Rodler and Carson Hodgdon will have opportunities to contribute.
• Goffstown: The Grizzlies took a hit with the graduation of nine seniors from last year’s team, but they return one of the division’s top faceoff guys in senior Bobby Schaefer. Junior Ethan Hansen and sophomore TJ Smedick join Schaefer at midfield while sophomore Sean Cote steps in at goalie.
• Hanover: The Bears open their second season in D2 with a solid core to build around, starting with midfielders DH Hendrick (senior) and Brendan Logan (junior) and senior defender Seamus Murphy. Also back are senior Roan Downard (defense) and junior Jack Gardner (midfield). Hanover will have the duo of senior Max Galbraith and freshman Henry Cotter seeing time in goal.
• Merrimack Valley: The Pride return a big senior class, led by Frank Morrill, Jake Currier and Kalvin Maier on defense and junior goalie Ryan Carmichael. Senior middies Travis Knouse and Aidan Miller also return along with senior Zach Lauren and junior Aidan Monaghan at attack. Travis Garcia, Jed Duquette and goalie Michael Kingsbury will look to contribute on defense while middies Michael Heine and Aidan Gray will also step in. At attack, Matthew Lauren, Ryan Monaghan and Jacob Leclerc are expected to see action.

Dark Horse

• ConVal: The Cougars lost just two seniors from a year ago and have their entire defense returning intact. That includes captains Alex Heck (senior) and goalie Nick Squatrito (junior), while junior Bryson Boice and LSM Noah Stewart will also contribute. Sophomore Ronan McNamara returns as a two-way middie and could take faceoffs while junior Cody Siegle will also serve as a two-way middie.

Rest of the Field

• Manchester Memorial-Central: Numbers are rising for the Crusaders, who will have a junior varsity team this season. Seniors Braden Hafeman (attack) and Gavin Lins (middie), along with junior Liam Murphy (middie), Joey Velez (middie) and sophomore Talen Perron (attack) return on offense while freshmen Trevor Wong and Brian Baumgardner will also see time. Seniors Parker Burgess and August Connors and junior Carter Beland return on defense in front of junior goalie Mene Adumene. Senior Jacob Calabro and junior Owen Kelley will also step in on defense.
• Pembroke: The Spartans turned in their best season in program history, winning 11 games in 2021, but return just four starters. Leading the way for Pembroke this season will be sophomore middie Caden Mix, senior attackman Gavin O’Brien and senior defenseman Kris Lessner.
• Alvirne: The Broncos return a good core on offense, with seniors Jared Graham (attack) and Eric Allard (middie) and juniors Cole Bucknam and Connor Hall returning. Sophomore goalie Ayden Kelly will look to bounce back from an injury-riddled season a year ago while sophomore LSM Jonavan Santana is also expected to step up.
• Bow: The Falcons should get a lift from the transfer in of twins Gavin and Ryan McCabe, who are sophomore midfielders. Also back is junior goalie Blake Scarinza.
• Spaulding: After making the transition from midfield to goalie, senior Garrett Gauthier has turned into one of the top netminders in the division for the Red Raiders.
• Kennett: The Eagles will have a solid defense behind senior long pole Tanner Bennett and junior goalie Kyle Stearns.

Postseason Predictions

• Playoff teams (14): Coe-Brown, ConVal, Derryfield, Goffstown, Hanover, Hollis Brookline, Kingswood, Merrimack Valley, Oyster River-Newmarket, Portsmouth, Timberlane, St. Thomas, Windham, Winnacunnet.
• Final four: Portsmouth, Derryfield, Timberlane, Windham.
• Championship: Portsmouth over Derryfield.
• Offensive Player of the Year: Alex Ryan, Windham.
• Defensive Player of the Year: Carter Morrissey, Kingswood.