Spring Sports

Playoff Picture: Boys Lacrosse

It was quite a week for the Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse team. The Astros went 3-0 last week against teams that are a combined 28-8, getting close wins over Bishop Guertin and Longmeadow (Mass.), with a blowout of Exeter in between.

It was quite a week for the Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse team.

The Astros went 3-0 last week against teams that are a combined 28-8, getting close wins over Bishop Guertin and Longmeadow (Mass.), with a blowout of Exeter in between.

But that wasn't all the news that came out of Derry, as Saturday's win over Longmeadow was the 500th career win for longtime Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly. In his 36 years at the helm, O'Reilly has a winning percentage of .785 and Pinkerton has averaged 14 wins per season. He's just the 14th coach in the country to reach the 500-win plateau.

The postseason doesn't begin until June 1, but here's what the field would look like in each division if the playoffs started Monday.

Division I

Ten teams make the postseason in Division I, with the top six teams getting a bye into the quarterfinals.

Top 6 (first-round byes)

Pinkerton (12-0): The Astros won last Monday's showdown with the Cardinals and followed it up with big wins over Exeter and Longmeadow (Mass.) to take control of the division. Pinkerton takes on Souhegan on Monday and Exeter again on May 19, but could very easily finish the regular season undefeated.
Bishop Guertin (11-1): The Cardinals had chances to beat Pinkerton, but struggled on faceoffs and clearing the ball in their first loss. Bishop Guertin has a big stretch coming up, with games against Bedford and Cohasset (Mass.) on Thursday and Friday this week before heading to Souhegan on May 16.
Bedford (9-1): The Bulldogs have won seven straight since losing to Pinkerton the first week of the season, averaging 15 goals per game. After opening the week with Salem, Bedford faces Bishop Guertin, Souhegan and Boston College High (Mass.) in a span of five days.
Exeter (9-3): The Blue Hawks three losses this year have come against Bishop Guertin, Bedford and Pinkerton by an average of 6.7 goals. Exeter gets a rematch against the Astros on May 19 and is then off until a non-division game against Goffstown to end the season on May 26.
Souhegan (9-3): The Sabers got a bit of revenge on Saturday, beating Londonderry 12-9 after falling to the Lancers five days before. Souhegan still has to play each of the top three teams, starting with Pinkerton on Monday.
Nashua South (5-5): The Panthers slip into the last spot, as they hold a better record against playoff teams (1-5) than Concord (0-4). Those two teams don't play until the final day of the regular season.

First-round matchups

No. 10 Londonderry (4-6) at No. 7 Concord (5-5)
No. 9 Nashua North (4-5) at No. 8 Hanover (4-5)

Key games this week: Souhegan at Pinkerton (Monday); Londonderry at Concord (Monday); Nashua South at Hanover (Monday); Bedford at Bishop Guertin (Thursday); Cohasset (Mass.) at Bishop Guertin (Saturday); Souhegan at Bedford (Saturday).

Division II

Twelve teams make the postseason in Division II, with the top four receiving byes into the quarterfinals.

Top 4 (first-round byes)

Portsmouth (9-1): After winning a trio of close games last week, the Clippers had two dominating wins to extend their winning streak to three. Portsmouth hosts Spaulding on Monday, but then goes on the road to play Winnacunnet (May 13) and Londonderry (May 16).
Derryfield (8-1): The Cougars bounced back from their first loss of the season with three wins last week in which they averaged 16.7 goals per game. Derryfield could easily be 11-1 heading into a big showdown with Winnacunnet on May 18.
Goffstown (6-1): The Grizzlies found a way to win two very low-scoring games in the last week, needing to come back to beat Bow (5-4) and holding off Hollis Brookline (6-5). Goffstown is averaging 10.3 goals per game this season.
Winnacunnet (8-2): The Warriors have picked up the scoring during their current four-game winning streak, as they've averaged 14 goals per game. They averaged 8.2 through their first six games.

First-round matchups

No. 9 Pembroke (3-4) at No. 8 Merrimack Valley (3-3)
No. 12 Bow (2-4) at No. 5 Windham (7-2)
No. 10 John Stark (3-4) at No. 7 St. Thomas (5-3)
No. 11 Oyster River (3-5) at No. 6 Hollis Brookline (5-3)

Key games this week: St. Thomas at Winnacunnet (Tuesday); Hollis Brookline at Goffstown (Wednesday); Windham at Hollis Brookline (Friday); Portsmouth at Winnacunnet (Friday).

Division III

Eight teams make the playoffs in Division III, which starts with the quarterfinals.

Top four teams

Laconia (7-0)
Pelham (5-0)
Plymouth (6-1)
Monadnock (4-1)

It's a huge week for Pelham, as the Pythons go on the road for three games, starting with Monday's championship rematch with Trinity. They'll also head to Laconia on Wednesday and then head to Gilford (1-6) on Thursday. Laconia follows up that mid-week matchup with a trip of its own to Plymouth, which has won five in a row to climb the division standings. Monadnock bounced back from its first loss of the season and the Huskies could be 8-1 heading into a big game with Laconia on May 17.

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