Merrimack moves into the NHHSSports Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll for the first time
For the second week in a row, there wasn’t much change among the top 10 boys lacrosse teams in the state, except for a new team climbing into the final spot.
For the second week in a row, there wasn’t much change among the top 10 boys lacrosse teams in the state, except for a new team climbing into the final spot.
Merrimack moves into the NHHSSports Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll for the first time, coming in at No. 10 and replacing Windham in the poll. The other nine teams remained the same, with the top five finishing in the same order for the third week in a row.
Bishop Guertin held on to the top spot again, despite dropping its first game of the season in an 11-10 overtime loss to Staples (Conn.) at Providence College. The Cardinals get back to it on Tuesday in the first game of a varsity doubleheader at Bedford, then host Exeter on Thursday and Archbishop Stepinac, of White Plains, N.Y., on Saturday.
Exeter was the unanimous choice at No. 2 after holding off Pinkerton its last time out. The Blue Hawks will travel to face Portsmouth on Wednesday before heading to Nashua to face the Cardinals. Pinkerton held off Derryfield to come in at No. 3, as the Astros will head to Andover (Mass.) on Tuesday before hosting Nashua South on Friday and then to Hingham (Mass.) on Saturday.
The Cougars remained at No. 4 for the third week in a row and will have a busy week, starting with a road trip to Kingswood on Tuesday. Derryfield will host Spaulding on Thursday and Westwood (Mass.) on Saturday night. Portsmouth, which held on to the fifth spot, goes to Goffstown on Tuesday before hosting Exeter Wednesday night.
Bedford remained in sixth, but will share that spot this week with Timberlane, which moved up in the poll for the first time this year. After hosting the Cardinals on Tuesday, the Bulldogs head to Hollis Brookline on Thursday and Nashua North on Friday. The Owls will head to Oyster River-Newmarket on Tuesday and then host Souhegan on Thursday.
St. Thomas moved into the ninth spot on its own, despite dropping its first game of the year, and will return to action Wednesday at this week’s 10th team, Merrimack. The Saints will also go to Alvirne on Friday. That home game for the Tomahawks on Wednesday is sandwiched between two road games, as Merrimack heads to Concord on Tuesday and Dover on Friday.
Here is the NHHSS Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll for this week. These are the top 10 lacrosse teams in the state, with records, first-place votes/points, and last week’s ranking (T=tie).
- Bishop Guertin (3-1), 9/90, 1st
- Exeter (5-0), 81, 2nd
- Pinkerton (4-2), 66, 3rd
- Derryfield (5-0), 63, 4th
- Portsmouth (4-0), 55, 5th
- T-Bedford (2-1), 45, 6th
- T-Timberlane (4-1), 45, 8th
- Londonderry (2-2), 28, 7th
- St. Thomas (3-1), 15, T-9th
- Merrimack (3-1), 6, NR
Dropped out: Windham.
Also receiving votes: Windham (5-0), 5; Bow (5-0), 2; Winnacunnet (0-3), 1.
The coaches poll is voted on by coaches from all three divisions, as well as members of the media. If you would like to sponsor the coaches poll, send an email to nhhighschoolsports@gmail.com.
