Portsmouth comes in at No. 1 in preseason New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center/NHHSSports Girls Lacrosse Coaches Poll
The Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team is picking up right where it left off.
The Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team is picking up right where it left off.
The Clippers were the choice again as the top team in the preseason New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center/NHHSSports Coaches Poll, receiving 11 of the 12 first-place votes. It’s the 15th poll in a row Portsmouth has found itself in the top spot, a stretch that began midway through the 2024 season.
Portsmouth will open its Division I title defense on Friday when the Clippers host Pinkerton.
Souhegan, which was the runner-up in D1 last year, received the other first-place vote, finishing second in the poll, right where the Sabers left off a year ago. Souhegan gets underway on Tuesday, when it hosts Exeter.
Pinkerton also remained where it was at the end of 2025, coming in third, as the Astros will host Salem on Monday. Bishop Guertin took the No. 4 spot in the preseason poll and will open the season at Londonderry on Monday, while Exeter rounded out the top five going into its opener at Windham, also on Monday.
Bedford, which will travel to Dover on Monday, came in sixth while Nashua South, which hosts Manchester Central-West on Monday, opened the year at No. 7.
Londonderry came in at No. 8 while Winnacunnet, the defending D2 champion, is at No. 9. The Warriors start the season by hosting Goffstown on Monday. Merrimack finished out the top 10, with its first game at Hanover on Tuesday.
Here is the preseason New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center/NHHSS Girls Lacrosse Coaches Poll for 2026. These are the top 10 lacrosse teams in the state, with last year’s records, first-place votes/points, and last year’s final ranking (T=tie).
- Portsmouth (20-0), 11/119, 1st
- Souhegan (14-4), 1/108, 2nd
- Pinkerton (16-4), 88, 3rd
- Bishop Guertin (10-7), 71, 6th
- Exeter (15-5), 67, 5th
- Bedford (9-8), 52, 9th
- Nashua South (14-5), 30, 8th
- Londonderry (6-11), 29, NR
- Winnacunnet (18-1), 25, 4th
- Merrimack (14-2), 18, NR
Also receiving votes: Hanover (11-7), 17; Windham (7-10), 12; St. Thomas (17-1), 12, 7th; Goffstown (6-11), 4; Dover (7-10), 2; Merrimack Valley (12-5), 2, 10th; Gilford (14-3), 1; Derryfield (13-4), 1; Hollis Brookline (9-9), 1.
The coaches poll is voted on by girls lacrosse coaches from around the state and members of the media. The poll will be updated every Monday throughout the regular season.
This spring, the coaches poll is sponsored by the New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center. Learn more about them by going here.
