NHHSSports Girls Lacrosse Coaches Poll gets minor shakeup heading into playoffs
The playoffs are here and a few teams moved around in the NHHSSports Girls Lacrosse Coaches Poll in preparation of the postseason getting underway.
The playoffs are here and a few teams moved around in the NHHSSports Girls Lacrosse Coaches Poll in preparation of the postseason getting underway.
Portsmouth took home all the first-place votes this week, the second time this year the Clippers have been the unanimous No. 1 choice. They’ve also earned the No. 1 seed in the Division I tournament and will open play Thursday in the quarterfinals against either Dover or Londonderry.
Bishop Guertin held off Bedford for the No. 2 spot this week, the third week in a row that the Cardinals and Bulldogs have been second and third, respectively, in the poll. Bishop Guertin will be the No. 3 seed in the D1 tournament and host Nashua South while Bedford is the No. 2 seed and will host Exeter. Both are quarterfinal games held on Thursday.
Souhegan moves back in front of Pinkerton at No. 4, after the teams flipped spots last week. The Sabers picked up a win over the Astros last week, giving the teams a split in the regular-season series. They’ll play a third time Thursday in the D1 quarterfinals, as Souhegan earned the No. 4 seed and Pinkerton the No. 5 seed.
Winnacunnet and Windham held on to the Nos. 6 and 7 spots in the poll for the fourth week in a row, and they’ll also be the top two seeds in the Division II tournament. The top-seeded Warriors will host either Kennett or Goffstown while the second-seeded Jaguars will face either Oyster River-Newmarket or Hollis Brookline. Both games will be quarterfinals held on Thursday.
Nashua South ended the regular season with three straight wins and jumped up to No. 8. The Panthers will be the No. 6 seed in the D1 tournament and face Bishop Guertin in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Exeter dropped one spot to No. 9 and the Blue Hawks will be the No. 7 seed in D1, going to Bedford for the quarterfinals on Thursday. Bow rounds out the top 10, moving into the poll for the first time this season at No. 10. The Falcons are the No. 2 seed in Division III and will host either Trinity or Lebanon in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Here is the NHHSS Girls 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). There will be no top 10 next week and the final poll for 2024 will be released June 10.
- Portsmouth (14-2), 11/110, 1st
- Bishop Guertin (14-3), 95, 2nd
- Bedford (13-3), 92, 3rd
- Souhegan (13-4), 74, 5th
- Pinkerton (12-6), 69, 4th
- Winnacunnet (17-1), 47, 6th
- Windham (15-2), 40, 7th
- Nashua South (11-7), 34, 10th
- Exeter (10-8), 13, 8th
- Bow (15-2), 9, NR
Dropped out: Hollis Brookline.
Also receiving votes: Hanover (11-4), 7; Goffstown (11-7), 5; Timberlane (13-3), 5; Hollis Brookline (10-6), 4, 9th; St. Thomas (14-0), 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.
