Girls lacrosse rankings for May 18

After a week out of the top spot, the Souhegan High School girls lacrosse team is back to No. 1 in the state rankings.

The Sabers moved up thanks in part to Pinkerton's win over last week's No. 1, Bishop Guertin, which helped move the Astros ahead of the Cardinals for the first time. Windham and Derryfield held on to the other spots in the top five.

Only one new team in the rankings this week, with Bedford moving in again, while Merrimack dropped out.

Here are the top 15 girls lacrosse teams in the state, followed by rankings for each division.

New Hampshire Top 15

Team (record, division), rating (last week)

1. Souhegan (13-1, Division I), 21.43 (2)
2. Pinkerton (12-2, Division I), 20.57 (3)
3. Bishop Guertin (11-2, Division I), 18.46 (1)
4. Windham (9-0, Division II), 18.44 (4)
5. Derryfield (10-0, Division III), 18.20 (5)
6. Hanover (10-3, Division II), 16.15 (7)
7. Laconia (10-1, Division III), 16.00 (10)
8. Exeter (9-4, Division I), 15.38 (6)
9. Kearsarge (8-2, Division III), 15.00 (12)
10. Portsmouth (10-3, Division II), 14.15 (9)
11. Londonderry (8-4, Division I), 13.17 (8)
12. Bedford (8-4, Division I), 12.33 (NR)
13. John Stark (7-2, Division II), 12.00 (14)
14. Lebanon (8-3, Division III), 10.55 (13)
15. Winnacunnet (6-6, Division II), 10.00 (15)

Division I

1. Souhegan (13-1), 21.43
2. Pinkerton (12-2), 20.57
3. Bishop Guertin (11-2), 18.46
4. Exeter (9-4), 15.38
5. Londonderry (8-4), 13.17
6. Bedford (8-4), 12.33
7. Merrimack (6-5), 9.64
8. Nashua North (6-7), 8.15
9. Salem (5-5), 7.60
10. Hollis Brookline (4-7), 5.27
11. Concord (4-7), 5.09
12. Manchester Central (3-8), 3.45
13. Nashua South (1-10), 1.09
14. Manchester Memorial (0-10), 0.00
15. Dover (0-11), 0.00

Division II

1. Windham (9-0), 18.44
2. Hanover (10-3), 16.15
3. Portsmouth (10-3), 14.15
4. John Stark (7-2), 12.00
5. Winnacunnet (6-6), 10.00
6. Goffstown (5-5), 7.20
7. Timberlane (4-6), 5.40
8. Kingswood (4-6), 4.60
9. Keene (4-7), 4.36
10. Merrimack Valley (2-8), 2.20
11. Pembroke (1-10), 0.91
12. Spaulding (0-10), 0.00

Division III

1. Derryfield (10-0), 18.20
2. Laconia (10-1), 16.00
3. Kearsarge (8-2), 15.00
4. Lebanon (8-3), 10.55
5. Gilford (7-3), 9.60
6. St. Thomas (6-5), 8.09
7. Bow (6-4), 8.00
8. Hopkinton (4-6), 5.60
9. Pelham (4-6), 5.20
10. Oyster River (4-6), 4.60
11. ConVal (3-6), 4.00
12. Bishop Brady (2-7), 3.78
13. Plymouth (3-8), 2.55
14. Coe-Brown (2-9), 1.45
15. Belmont (0-11), 0.00

Here’s how the rankings were done

A year ago, we used Maine’s Heal Point System to ranking teams throughout the state, but that process is a long one to figure out. This year, we took the NHIAA’s football rating system, and gave it a little tweak. Instead of 10 points for a win, we weighted the wins by division, giving 12 for a win over a D1 team, 10 for a win over D2, and eight for a win over D3. Plus, every team got two points for a win by a beaten opponent. The two point totals were added together and divided by the number of games played.