A way-too-early look at the 2021 girls lacrosse season

When the high school girls lacrosse season kicks off in 2021, it won't be just the players spectators might not recognize.

The turnover among rosters won't be limited to the athletes on the field, as many teams - including contenders - had coaches who were taking over for the first time in 2020 season. At least one program will have a coaching change during this offseason, and handful of others are likely to happen as well.

All three teams that won titles in 2019 - Bishop Guertin, Portsmouth and Hopkinton - had new head coaches coming into this spring, along with Londonderry, Winnacunnet and Hanover. Souhegan will see a coaching change this offseason, and there are sure to be at least a few others before the 2021 season kicks off.

And what about the players? There are some programs that will likely return kids who got varsity experience as freshmen and sophomores, but there will be plenty of teams fielding rosters full of players getting their first opportunity to play at that level.

Editor's Note: With the number of teams making the playoffs unknown at this time, each division breakdown will have the top eight predicted teams in 2021. 

Division I

Bishop Guertin should return a senior class that might be one of the deepest and most-talented in recent memory. Six of those seniors - Lindsay Hult, Emma Hayhurst, Madison Keating, Kyla Pascucci, Amelia Piercy and Frida Turriza - have all committed to play in college, and they'll be joined by juniors Rylee Bouvier, Natalie Coutu, Delanie Ramalho and Makenna Reckie. That makes the Cardinals the early favorite in Division I in 2021.

Pinkerton also will likely return plenty of talent, but doesn't quite have the depth yet that Bishop Guertin does. Abigail Jowett, Caroline Daziel and Amy Quigley give the Astros some experience on offense while Justine Doyle and junior goalie Lauren Sweeney should be solid returners on defense.

Despite graduating 14 seniors in 2020, Bedford looks to have a good group of seniors back, including Alex Doldo, McKenzie Muir and Emily Ulmer, along with junior Julian Bell. Although its the smallest program in D1, Souhegan continues to develop top talent, and next year should have a senior class led by Abigail Hawkes, Margot Manx, Eva Stine and Avery Karavas.

Londonderry has enough returning that it could break up what has been a dominant top four in the division, while Exeter, Nashua South, Merrimack, Manchester Central and Concord will likely compete for playoff spots.

Top 8: Bishop Guertin, Pinkerton, Bedford, Londonderry, Souhegan, Merrimack, Nashua South, Exeter.

Division II

The four teams that reached the semifinals in 2019 graduated an average of 10.5 players over the last two years, but those programs have consistently reloaded in recent years.

Portsmouth has a handful of kids who played in the D2 championship game in 2019, including juniors Julia Roelofs and Katie Campel, while Winnacunnet also had sophomores and freshmen on the roster when the Warriors finished as the runner-up that year.

Although Windham lost a senior class in 2020 that had been playing together for a long time, the Jaguars will likely have another cohesive group returning, led by seniors Paige DeVrie, Payton Furnari and Alexandra Perkins. Hollis Brookline also should have some experience returning in seniors Abbey Magnuszewski and Brooke Allanach and juniors Nicole Heiter, Ellie Maxwell and Abbie Ogren.

John Stark will look to build around seniors Andra Dagenais and Olivia Dame while Goffstown, Hanover, Oyster River-Newmarket and ConVal should also be in the mix for a top eight spot.

Top 8: Portsmouth, Winnacunnet, Windham, Hollis Brookline, John Stark, Hanover, Goffstown, Oyster River-Newmarket.

Division III

Derryfield looks to be the favorite at this point, as the Cougars will likely enter the year with the most experience returning. Seniors Shawna Lesmerises, Lucy Licata and Lauren MacLean were all apart of Derryfield's runner-up finish in 2019 and there were a handful of other players on the roster that season who should step in and contribute.

Bow has a solid core likely returning and could be a top contender with Derryfield. Seniors Meaghan Danahy and Makayla Murray, along with juniors Jessica Chamberlin, Addison Trefethen and Ava Kehas give the Falcons a strong base. Pelham also should return a strong group, led by seniors Emma Beanland and Sarah Giniewicz, while St. Thomas made the playoffs in 2019 with a team loaded with sophomores, including Brooke Chandler and Sarah Leahy.

Kearsage, with senior Megan Norris returning, and Laconia could also be in the mix for a top four spot in D3, while Hopkinton might be a year away from being a strong contender. Campbell had a big, young roster going into 2020, and depending on the offseason goes, the Cougars could be fighting for a playoff spot.

Top 8: Derryfield, Bow, Pelham, Kearsarge, Laconia, St. Thomas, Hopkinton, Campbell.