Rest of field in D1 boys lacrosse again chasing Bishop Guertin

The Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team stretched its streak of championship appearances to 17 a year ago.

That means almost all of the Cardinals’ roster in 2023 had yet to be born when this run started.

Of those title games, Bishop Guertin has won 11, one behind Pinkerton for the most all-time since the sport was first sanctioned by the NHIAA in 1994. Four of those Astros titles have come at the expense of the Cardinals, but the last two years, it’s been Exeter reaching the championship game before falling to Bishop Guertin.

The trio looks like it’s once again at the top of the division, question is what order will they fall into in the regular season. Last year, Pinkerton struggled with its out-of-state scheduled and dropped down to the sixth seed, but still made its way to the final four.

This year, all three teams have put together a challenging schedule outside of the division. Bishop Guertin will once again play Staples (Conn.), along with St. John’s Prep, Hingham, Acton-Boxborough and Boston College High, teams that are all in the preseason top 10 in Massachusetts by Boston Lax.

Exeter beefed up its schedule as well, as the Blue Hawks will play A-B again and Lincoln-Sudbury, while Pinkerton will also play Hingham and renew its rivalry with Longmeadow, another preseason top 10 team.

With just 12 teams in the division again, only eight will make the playoffs, and the remaining five spots could go to any of the other remaining nine teams. Bedford, Londonderry and Merrimack look to be the teams that have the best shot at grabbing that spot as the fourth team in the division, but don’t be surprised if Dover or Manchester make a run.

Here’s a look at the teams in D1 this season, listed alphabetically.

• Bedford (8-9 in 2022): The Bulldogs go into the year with a new head coach, as Drew Bourdeau takes over after spending time as an assistant. Bedford has a big pair of holes to fill on defense, but will try to do so with a returning unit that includes Kevin Sheridan, Spencer Henrichon, Tristan Kerr, Brian Riccio and Nick Hadley. Junior Ian Fletcher and freshman Ethan Conn have been battling for the starting job at goaltender. On offense, leading scorer Derek Kulesza returns at attack, along with midfielders Zach Griffin and Sean Toscano. Freshmen Bennett Matthews and Brody Helton will also look to be a key part of the varsity this season.
• Bishop Guertin (19-2): The Cardinals lost some strong talent from last year’s championship team, but they return enough to more than make up for it. Leading the way will be senior midfielders Connor Bouvier, Tim Kiely and Connor Guibord, while juniors Kevin Broderick, Caleb Yeung and Micah Dunsmoor will also contribute. Seniors Aiden Laurendeau, Jacob Carron, Michaek Matuszewski, Emerson Warren and junior Brady Dumont return on attack. The defense will be led by seniors Colin Roark and Dylan Yeung and junior Alex Dumont while senior Zach Connerty leads a deep group at goalie. Sophomore Paulo Vazquez will take over faceoff duties for Bishop Guertin.
• Concord (9-10): The Crimson Tide will lean on their offense early in the year to help along a defensive unit, including goaltender, that doesn’t have starting experience. Seniors Joey Tarbell and Nathan Doherty return at midfield while Brody McGonigle will see time at midfield and attack after missing all of last season with an injury. Senior defender Max Leahy will miss this year with an injury, but will serve as a captain with the other four seniors and provide leadership from the sideline.
• Dover (4-11): The Green Wave graduated their starting defense and leading scorer from a year ago, but return a strong group of juniors, led by goalie Dom Chalifour. Senior Johnny Rand will be joined by juniors Lukah Ready and Micah Krick at midfield while sophomore Ben Tower will also see time at midfield while taking faceoffs. Freshman Cooper Ketcham will also be in the mix. On attack, senior Cody Dubois and sophomore Tobey Desroches return, while freshman Logan Carter will see time as well. Freshman Bryson Glidden will look to step in on defense for Dover.
• Exeter (20-2): A solid core returns for the Blue Hawks, who were the runner-up the last two seasons. Leading the way on offense will be senior Gavin Lechner and junior Owen Williams at attack and sophomore Marshall Lasewicz at midfield. Junior Tanner Smith will lead the defense, along with junior goalie Ethan Bernich. Will McIlroy and Evan Delorie will also be look to for contributions this season.
• Londonderry (14-8): Former Lancer player Dave Wiedenfeld takes over a team that reach the final four a year ago and has aspirations to do it again this season. Senior Dylan Wrisley and junior Cam Brutus are back to lead the Londonderry defense while sophomore goalie Colby Walden will look to build on a strong first year. The offense will look to senior attack Aidan Huard and senior middie Nathan Pedrick to lead the way.
• Manchester (7-12 in D2): The Kings are back in D1 after both Memorial and Central were down in D2 for the last couple of years. They enter the year with a roster of 50 players, led by seniors Mene Adumene (goalie), Owen Kelley and Carter Beland on defense, along with Liam Murphy and Thomas Egan at midfield. Juniors Joey Velez and Talen Perron also return at midfield along with sophomore Trevor Wong while sophomore Sam Brown will join the mix. Junior Lukas Tafe and sophomore Collin Beaulieu will look to lead the offense. Junior Thomas Stamoulis will see time at LSM.
• Merrimack (9-8): The Tomahawks turned in one of their best seasons in program history last season, but they graduated 17 seniors from a year ago. There are some strong players returning, though, including seniors Ryan Rezendes, Jackson Forbes and Trent Jackson and junior Connor Dunn at midfield. Senior Kyle Dunn is back on attack and senior Reimello Hyde will look to lead the defense. Sophomores Max Giles, Peyton Connelly, Henry Tobin and Beau Lamontagne will all be called upon to contribute.
• Nashua North (1-17): The Titans have one of the top returning players in the division in senior middie Jack Peters. He’s joined in the midfield by Alec Jenkerson while Dylan Noble will also be looked at to contribute. Nick Wilkinson will see time at attack and Jace Colon steps in at goalie.
• Nashua South (14-5): Like Merrimack, the Panthers turned in their best season in recent memory, but graduated 13 seniors. Will Delanoy takes over as head coach and he’s got a handful of returning players on defense, including seniors Cody Goode, Rob Heaton and Colin Sewade (goalie) and junior Severen Johnson. Senior Cole Rioux and sophomore Broden Landsteiner will step in at midfield while freshman Owen Roy will look to contribute on attack.
• Pinkerton (11-9): The Astros will have a chance in every game, thanks to junior Cole Frank, who might be the best faceoff guy in the state. The offense is loaded with seniors, including Joey Gallo and Michael Uber at midfield and Ryan Lynch and Matt Feole at attack. They’re joined by sophomore Matt Morrison at midfield. Seniors Cam Leeds and Ridge Crossman lead the defense, along with sophomore Jackson Chase and freshman Brendan Carney. Seniors Curtis Michaud and Tyler LeBlanc return to share time in goal.
• Salem (5-11): The Blue Devils have a new coach in Colby Larsen and a handful of returning players, including seniors Nick Antonietti and Owen Arsenault on defense and seniors Brennan Chane and Matt Doyle at attack. Colby Savageau, a junior, also returns on defense, along with junior goalie John Schoenrock while junior Logan Halloran and sophomore Reiley O’Brein return as defensive middies. Sophomore Danny Hughes is back at LSM and he’ll be joined by freshman Gianni Amedeo. Junior midfielder Bennet Atkins will be joined by sophomores Logan Smith, Kayden Leahy and Teddy Hannon on the offensive end. Freshmen Henry Griffin, Ryan Todt and Ryan Porier will have a chance to contribute as well.

Preseason Predictions

• Playoff Teams (8): Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Dover, Exeter, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Pinkerton.
• Final Four: Bishop Guertin, Exeter, Pinkerton, Bedford.
• Championship: Bishop Guertin over Exeter.
• Offensive Player of the Year: Gavin Lechner, Exeter.
• Defensive Player of the Year: Colin Roark, Bishop Guertin.