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# Exeter looks to break up Pinkerton-Bishop Guertin hold on D1 boys lacrosse
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/exeter-looks-to-break-up-pinkerton-bishop-guertin-hold-on-d1-boys-lacrosse/
- Published: 2019-04-08T14:38:07.000Z
- Updated: 2019-04-08T14:38:07.000Z
- Description: It rains in April, flowers bloom in May, and the Bishop Guertin High School and Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse teams play in the Division I final in June. That's how its been for the last six springs in New Hampshire, with the Cardinals having won four of those six matchups. But last season, it was
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, boys lacrosse, preview, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

It rains in April, flowers bloom in May, and the Bishop Guertin High School and Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse teams play in the Division I final in June.

That's how its been for the last six springs in New Hampshire, with the Cardinals having won four of those six matchups. But last season, it was the Astros handing Bishop Guertin its only loss of the season in the title game.

This year, Exeter - which has lost to Bishop Guertin (2017) and Pinkerton (2018) in the semifinals the last two years - hopes to take another step forward and make its first title-game appearance since 2010.

A handful of other teams - Londonderry, Nashua South, Souhegan and Dover - will also be ready to step up if any of the top three stumble.

### Favorite

- **Pinkerton (19-2 in 2018):** The Astros made it four years in a row that the lower seed has beaten the No. 1 seed in the D1 championship game with their upset win over Bishop Guertin in the 2018 title game. While Pinkerton has a few holes - notably in goal with the graduation of Alex Sturgess - there is a lot of talent on offense returning, led by two pairs of brothers in Mason and Hunter Drouin and Owen and Connor McCormack. That foursome will help make up for the absence of senior Ryan Auger, who will miss the start of the regular season after a shoulder injury suffered during football season. Although the goalie will be new for Pinkerton, the defense is the same, with Dom Zirn, Jonathan Holland, Thomas McGarrahan and Jake Seccareccio all returning. The Astros again have a loaded out-of-state schedule, with games at Lincoln-Sudbury (April 10), at Medfield (April 20), at Longmeadow (April 27), vs. Hingham (May 11), vs. Cohasset (May 18) and at Andover (May 24).

### Challengers

- **Bishop Guertin (20-1):** The Cardinals put together one of the most impressive regular seasons in state history, with just three games decided by five goals or less. Bishop Guertin graduated over 20 seniors from last year's team, including five of the top six players on offense and all of its starting long poles. But the Cardinals return perhaps the top offensive player in the state in junior middie Sean Cameron, with junior Ben Abladian returning to step in at attack and junior goalie James Heitmiller also back. Bishop Guertin will get a boost from a couple of transfers, including middies Nick McGovern (Bow) and Chris Kiely (Ithaca, N.Y.) and attack Dawson Clark (Bedford). Junior Matt Frechette and sophomore Aidan Ahearn will be called upon to lead the defense. The Cardinals also have a strong out-of-state schedule, with games vs. Needham (April 11), vs. Boston College (April 25), at Xaverian Brothers (May 2), vs. Reading (May 9) and vs. Duxbury (May 21).
- **Exeter (16-5):** The Blue Hawks reached the semifinals for the second year in a row last season and they seemed poised to do so again, despite the loss of attackman Mike Penna. Exeter is deep in the midfield, with the return of seniors Conor Flanagan and Griffin Henningsen and sophomores Spencer Clark and Connor Holly, while Wyatt Carr and Dayton Christenson return at attack along with senior Teagan Coute. The defense will be led by junior goalie Henry Vogt and senior long poles Andy Thompson, Max Gauthier and Sawyer Lascewicz. The Blue Hawks have a tough schedule with out-of-state games against Cohasset and Acton-Boxborough plus two games against Pinkerton and Londonderry and one at Derryfield.

### Contenders

- **Souhegan (5-12):** After missing the playoffs for the first time since returning to D1 in 2013, the Sabers return a quartet of seniors who are hungry to erase last year. The midfield will be the strength of the Souhegan offense to start the season, with seniors Tyler Hall, Luke Civiello and Nick Jordan and sophomore Riley Lawhorn returning. The defense will be held down by Jack Manning and goalie John Lohnes, who should help Souhegan get back to the postseason and contend for the final four.
- **Nashua South (9-9):** The Panthers will have some growing pains on defense, as they graduated their entire starting defense from last year. But South returns a ton of young experience on offense, including juniors Joe Bodi (attack), Joe Buturla (attack), Jaiden Dupont (midfield) and Jordan Bodwell (midfield) and sophomores Drew Fleury (attack) and Jaden Murphy (midfield). The Panthers will rely on junior Kyle O'Connor to lead the defense while incoming seniors JJ Arnesan, Jaylan Pacheco, David Barnett and Brendon Frost gain experience. Sophomore Dom Pasquale and freshman Connor Rowsell battle for the starting goalie position.
- **Londonderry (12-7):** The Lancers got to the final four for the first time in six years in 2018, but graduation, plus the loss of a pair of expected returners Jake Holland and Jeff Wiedenfeld, will cause some early growing pains. On attack, senior Anthony Federico will be joined by sophomore Hunter Smith while midfielders Blake Melnik, Mason Marquis and James Cranmer will be called upon to contribute on offense. Long poles Kyle Proulx and Devin Rheume are going to have to step up to lead the Londonderry defense.
- **Dover (13-4):** After reaching the final four in D2 and going 30-5 over the last two years, the Green Wave return to D1\. While Dover lost 10 seniors and has a new head coach in Liam Murphy, it returns a lot of experience, starting with middies Cam Lent and Kyle Ferriero, defenseman Andrew Housley and goalie Sebastian Cook. Also returning are seniors Sean Gallipo (attack), Jake Govoni (midfield), Drew Tesch (defense) and Ian Krause (midfield) while Cody Thomas will help Lent with faceoffs. Dover will also look to a handful of players in new roles to step up, including senior Aaron Oroh (defense), sophomore Luke Geppert (attack), senior Ryan Long (attack) and senior Liam Mone (midfield).

### Dark Horses

- **Timberlane (7-9 in D2):** The Owls make the move up to D1 and should compete for a playoff spot thanks to the return of junior attackman Matt Licata. Timberlane also has junior midfielders Cody Fleming, who was an all-state performer a year ago, returning.
- **Salem (10-9):** The Blue Devils graduated 10 seniors, including starting goalie Sebastian Farah and faceoff specialist Adam Maroun, but Salem has another big group of seniors this year. Mike Ouellette takes over as the Blue Devils' head coach, the team's fourth in four years.

### Rest of Field

- **Bedford (12-7):** For the first time in program history, the Bulldogs will have a new coach, as Matt Johansmeyer replaces Matt Guerard, who retired after last season. Bedford returns a good group of seniors, including midfielders Ryan Toscano, John Giroux and Andrew Twite, but the question is will they be enough to keep the Bulldogs in the playoff hunt.
- **Concord (3-14):** The Crimson Tide were young a season ago and they took their lumps in 2018\. Now a team that returns just about everyone looks to find a way back into the playoffs, behind senior attackman Brendan Pearl and senior middie Jeffrey Emmons.
- **Hanover (7-11):** The Marauders will have to find away to replace Graham Penfield's offense if they are to contend for a playoff spot. Senior Kyle Rozzi will have the first crack at it, while sophomore Noah Fahey looks to carry some of the load. Junior Brendan Brigham returns to the faceoff-X and junior LSM Sylas Oberting will lead the defense.
- **Nashua North (2-13):** Nick Sampson takes over as the Titans coach and the strength of his team will be on defense, with Steele Stratton, Griffin Dane, Joe Morse and goalie Ryan Palmer returning while Aidan McGrath and Kyle Krulikowski look to get in the mix. North will have to figure out how to replace Todd Redman on offense and will look to Collin Manning and Elly Ostler, back after missing last season with an injury, while newcomers Aidan Taylor and Mickey Matheson get in the mix.
- **Keene (10-8 in D2):** The Blackbirds make the move up to D1 with a new coach, Wayne Stubbs, taking over. Keene graduated 18 seniors from last year's team that made it to the D2 quarterfinals, but return Manning Kirker, who was a 30-goal scorer for the Blackbirds a season ago.

### Playoff Predictions

**Playoff teams:** Pinkerton, Exeter, Bishop Guertin, Souhegan, Nashua South, Londonderry, Dover, Timberlane, Salem.

**Final four:** Pinkerton, Exeter, Bishop Guertin, Nashua South.

**Championship:** Pinkerton over Exeter.