Top Five Boys Lacrosse Games in 2025

It was a busy spring, as I saw all or parts of 75 games this season, including 20 playoff games, between both boys and girls lacrosse.

There were plenty of good ones, but this list compiles the five best boys lacrosse games that I saw in person in 2025.

No. 5: Plymouth 7, Laconia 6 (May 7)

Every time it looked like Plymouth was going to put this one away, Laconia came right back, all the way to the end. The Bobcats led 4-2 at halftime and 5-3 going into the fourth quarter, but the Sachems scored twice in the first four minutes of the quarter to tie it at 5. Plymouth went back in front right away and then added another goal for a 7-5 lead with 4:41 to play. The Bobcats looked like they were going to close out a win from there, but the Sachems scored with 34 seconds left and won the ensuing faceoff for a chance to tie. Plymouth was able to hang on for the win. (Editor’s Note: This game got bonus points for taking place on my birthday.)

No. 4: Bedford 16, Westford (Mass.) 14 (May 3)

Bedford was coming off a loss to Bishop Guertin in its previous game and fell behind Westford in the first half. The Ghosts led 6-2 with 3:32 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs went into halftime on a 5-1 run and the teams went back and forth in the second half. Bedford took its first lead on a goal by Brody Helton with 5:43 remaining and Bennett Matthews scored the game-winner with 27.5 seconds remaining.

No. 3: Londonderry 9, Merrimack 8 (April 28)

Merrimack took a two-goal lead in the first quarter that it held until halftime. Down 5-3 at the break, Londonderry went on a 4-0 run in the third quarter to take a 7-5 lead and eventually went up 9-6 with just under five minutes left in the game. The Tomahawks scored with 1:51 remaining to cut the lead to two, but looked like they weren’t going to get any close. But a bad turnover by the Lancers kept Merrimack alive and the Tomahawks made it a one-goal game with 20.3 seconds left. Merrimack won the faceoff but turned the ball over and time expired.

No. 2: St. Thomas 9, Hollis Brookline 8 (June 7)

Hollis Brookline led for most of the first three quarters, including going up 8-5 on a goal by Mike O’Hearn with just under a minute left in the third. But St. Thomas got that goal back before the end of the quarter and Finley De Tolla scored twice in the first three minutes of the fourth to tie the game at 8. That’s where it stood until Aidan Morrison scored for the Saints with 1:55 remaining. It looked like St. Thomas would be able to run out the clock, but the Cavaliers got one more chance to tie it, and Saints’ goalie Jake More came up with the save to hang on to the win.

No. 1: Portsmouth 6, Derryfield 5 OT (June 14)

Overtime in a championship game is hard to beat, and the way this one unfolded is still hard to believe. Derryfield built up a 5-0 lead through the first two-and-a-half quarters, and the Cougars still led 5-1 going into the fourth. The Clippers scored again with 7:16 remaining and kept chipping away at the lead, finally tying it on a goal by Sawyer Bouvier with 40 seconds left in regulation. After both teams had chances to win in overtime, Portsmouth’s Reilly Collins scored the game-winner with 29.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Clippers their fourth Division II title in five years.

Going back to 2008, this was the 19th time the teams have played, with Derryfield winning 10 of them. All but one of those games has been since the Cougars moved up to D2 in 2015 and they won the first eight meetings as D2 opponents; Portsmouth has won 8 of 10 since 2021. Eight of the games have been decided by one goal, while two others have been decided by two goals and two more by three.