Defensive trio leading the way as Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse heads into semifinals

Chris Cameron was watching the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team practice in preparation for the first of two games against Pinkerton Academy when he had somewhat of an epiphany.

The Cardinals' first-team offense was running through its plays, but was finding it impossible to get the ball in the back of the net.

The long-time Bishop Guertin coach started to wonder what was going on when it hit him.

"I needed to start realizing how good our defense is," Cameron said of what he thought that day. "We had a practice before Pinkerton, and we went 25 minutes, 20 possessions, against the first team offense and they didn’t score. Not one goal."

Opponents haven't done that much better against the Bishop Guertin defense, as the Cardinals allowed an average of 4.5 goals per game during the regular season. Only two teams scored more than six - Londonderry potted 11 goals in the teams' season-opener and Exeter put in eight goals the first time the teams met, but lost by 13.

The playoffs have been more of the same, as the Cardinals (18-0, No. 1 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) have held Nashua North and Nashua South to a combined five goals. Six times this year, Bishop Guertin held an opponent to its lowest scoring output of the season.

One of those teams was Bedford (10-6, No. 6), who Bishop Guertin will face in Division I semifinals at 7p.m. Tuesday at Bedford High School.

"We want to average four goals against a game," Cameron said. "We’ve set the bar pretty high for these guys."

The Cardinals' success begins with its three starting long poles - seniors Aiden Ahearn, Matt Cranney and John Sullivan.

All three have been varsity players since at least their sophomore year, they've played successfully at the highest level of competition nationally for their club team, the New Hampshire Tomahawks, and each is going to play Division I-level lacrosse in college next year. Ahearn will head to Villanova while Cranney goes to Merrimack and Sullivan to West Point.

"They’re the complete package," Cameron said. "They’re athletes, high skill level, they love to compete. These are by far the top three poles in the state, maybe New England."

Although the trio lost out on their junior season in 2020, and they weren't the starters on defense as sophomores, they've been playing together for the Tomahawks long enough that the transition this spring has been seemless.

"We get to play with each other a lot," Sullivan said. "It’s nice that we got to come back to BG and play together. The biggest part of it to me is just chemistry. We know how we’re going to play with each other, we know slides are coming, so that’s probably my favorite part. It’s not just them, we have some great (defensive) middies. All around the chemistry is great. Playing with them is awesome."

With each one playing at a high level, it allows Cameron and defensive coach Luke Solms to move them around depending on the situation and the opponent. In the two games against Pinkerton, Cranney drew the assignment of matching up with Hunter Drouin, but when Bishop Guertin went to Cape Elizabeth (Maine) for its lone out-of-state game, the matchups were much different.

"(Cranney) has been taking the other team’s top attackman," Cameron said. "It gives us the flexibility with Aiden. Sullivan is an LSM. He’s a born LSM. Aiden is a hybrid. If the other team has a second attackman, he can play down low. He gives us flexibility."

Two years ago, the three of them were able to watch and learn as they got their feet wet on varsity. This season, they've tried to do the same for the players who will be taking over for them after the 2021 season.

"We were in a spot sophomore year where we got to see a lot of playing time," Ahearn said. "We’ve been pushing each other and I see a lot of improvement there. A lot of this year is teaching the younger guys to get them ready for next year because we do have a pretty big senior class. It’s up to these sophomores and juniors to get it done next year."

If those underclassmen learn anything from this year's senior class, Cranney hopes that it will be to never sit back, despite however much success the Cardinals are having.

"I think it’s better because it pushes each of you," he said of the competition among the defense. "You see them doing well, so you know you’ve got to step up and play better. We know the next person is going to be there and playing their best. If we were there by ourselves, there would be no on pushing us. It makes you play that much better."

Bishop Guertin is two wins away from its goal every year - winning a D1 title - but there are some other numbers the defense would like to hit.

"The goal is to hold them to zero goals, but some teams are bound to get a goal here or there," Ahearn said. "We want to make sure they don’t score and get the ball to our offense."