Early predictions for the 2019 high school girls lacrosse season

For the last few years, the New Hampshire high school girls lacrosse landscape has been dominated by a handful of teams in each of the three divisions.

It's been a group of four in Division I that has occupied the top of the standings since Bedford and Bishop Guertin moved up from Division II before the 2015 season. In that time, the Bulldogs and Cardinals, along with Pinkerton and Souhegan, have made up the final four every year with the exception of 2015, when Bedford fell in the quarterfinals and Exeter reach the title game.

While Pinkerton, Souhegan and Bishop Guertin (twice) have each won titles in that span, Bedford has been to the last two championship games, and don't be surprised if one or two of the big four get there again this year.

Portsmouth has owned D2 the last two years, with its only losses coming against teams from D1, while winning the last two division titles after finishing as the runner-up to Hanover in 2016.

And in D3, Laconia has been the last team standing in three of the last four years, including last year's run to the title as the No. 4 seed. Kearsarge and Derryfield have each had a two trips to the title game in that stretch, including in 2017, when Kearsarge upset Derryfield in the final.

Will 2019 be more of the same? Or will some new contenders rise up? Here are a few early preseason predictions to keep an eye on as the girls lacrosse season gets closer.

Someone breaks through in D1

But who will it be? And which of the big four won't get to the semifinals? Bishop Guertin, Pinkerton and Bedford all return a big part of their core from their 2018 rosters, while Souhegan graduated seven seniors from a year ago, many of whom had been on varsity since freshman year.

And there appears to be a pair of teams who could be ready to make that jump from playoff team to semifinalist.

Merrimack looks to have a strong nucleus back from a team that gave Bishop Guertin a run before falling in the quarterfinals. And Nashua South, coming off consecutive playoff berths since reaching the D1 final in 2006-07, has a big group of juniors and seniors who have been building toward this year.

No. 1 doesn't win again

Getting the top seed in D1 has been more of a curse over the last six seasons, as the No. 1 team hasn't won the title since 2012. In fact, in two of the last three years, the team seeded fourth has walked away with the championship.

There is no reason to think that trend won't continue this season, as there doesn't appear to be much that separates the top teams in the division again. Winning a close game during the regular season has proven to be more of a detriment come playoff time, and it will likely happen again this year.

Regular-season run comes to end for Portsmouth

The Clippers are the favorite in D2 going into the season, but the gap between the two-time defending champs and the rest of the division may have closed a little bit. While Portsmouth returns a good chunk of players from 2018, so do a handful of other teams, one of whom will hand the Clippers their first division loss in two years.

Hollis Brookline, last year's runner-up, lost just one senior from a year ago, while Hanover had one of the toughest schedules last season and had the bad luck of drawing Portsmouth in the quarterfinals. And while Winnacunnet will miss Dana Sher, who was a senior last year, the Warriors have enough left to remain at the top of the division.

New team will make playoffs in D2

Just like on the boys side, there was a little bit of shuffling of teams, as Timberlane moved up to D1, Pembroke and Milford moved down to D3, and ConVal and Coe-Brown jumped up to D2.

Of those teams, the pair in D2 will be the ones most likely to compete for a playoff spot. ConVal was a playoff team a season ago in D3, while Coe-Brown has continued to take steps forward as a young program. Both have favorable schedules within the division that could help one - or maybe even both - sneak into the postseason.

D3 will be a six-team battle

The three teams mention above - Laconia, Derryfield and Kearsarge - will once again be in the discussion as contenders in D3, as all three have a lot coming back from playoff teams in 2018.

But last year's runner-up, Hopkinton, lost just four seniors and returns one of the division's top players in Amelia Bassett, while Pelham and Bow also have a strong returning casts.