Playoff Picture: Boys Lacrosse (May 26)

There are just a few days remaining in the boys lacrosse regular season and a lot still left to be determined, with several marquee games still to go. Here is a look at where teams stand going into today’s action.

Note: With the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, Division I will have eight teams, Division II will have 14 teams and Division III will have 10 teams in the playoffs. Per By-Law Article IV, Sect. 4-C, teams that petitioned down a division for this two-year cycle are not eligible for the postseason. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. These are not official. 

Division I

Team (Record, rating, previous)

1. Bishop Guertin (15-3, 3.3333, 1st)
2. Bedford (11-4, 2.9333, 2nd)
3. Exeter (13-5, 2.8571, 3rd)
4. Pinkerton (12-5, 2.7647, 4th)
5. Merrimack (9-5, 2.5714, 5th)
6. Londonderry (8-8, 2.0000, 6th)
7. Dover (5-11, 1.2500, 7th)
8. Concord (5-12, 1.1765, 8th)

Eliminated: Salem (4-10, 1.1429, 8th); Nashua North (5-13, 1.1111); Manchester (3-12, 0.7333); Nashua South (3-14, 0.7059).

Quarterfinal matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 8 Concord at No. 1 Bishop Guertin
• No. 5 Merrimack at No. 4 Pinkerton
• No. 7 Dover at No. 2 Bedford
• No. 6 Londonderry at No. 3 Exeter

Remaining Schedule

• Friday, May 26: Merrimack at Nashua South, 4 p.m.; Bedford at Pinkerton, 5 p.m.

Scenarios

• Bishop Guertin has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Bedford would be the No. 2 seed with a win over Pinkerton. The Bulldogs would be the No. 4 seed with a loss to the Astros.
• Exeter would be the No. 2 seed with a Pinkerton win over Bedford.
• Pinkerton would be the No. 3 seed with a win over Bedford.
• Merrimack has clinched the No. 5 seed.
• Londonderry has clinched the No. 6 seed.
• Dover has clinched the No. 7 seed.
• Concord has clinched the No. 8 seed.

Division II

Team (Record, rating, previous)

1. Portsmouth (16-1, 3.8235, 1st)
2. Derryfield (15-1, 3.8125, 2nd)
3. Timberlane (13-2, 3.600, 3rd)
4. Windham (11-4, 3.0667, 4th)
5. Winnacunnet (10-4, 2.9286, 6th)
6. St. Thomas (10-4, 2.8571, 5th)
7. Hollis Brookline (10-6, 2.6250, 7th)
8. Oyster River-Newmarket (9-6, 2.4667, 9th)
9. Souhegan (9-6, 2.4000, 8th)
10. Alvirne (8-7, 2.2667, 10th)
11. ConVal (7-7, 2.0000, 12th)
12. Goffstown (7-8, 1.8667, 11th)
13. Pembroke (6-8, 1.7143, 13th)
14. Kingswood (5-9, 1.4286, 14th)

Outside: Hanover (4-9, 1.2308); Merrimack Valley (4-9, 1.2308).

Eliminated: Kennett (2-11, 0.6154); Hillsboro-Deering/John Stark (1-13, 0.2857).

Ineligible: Keene-Monadnock (5-11, 1.3125); Spaulding (0-15, 0.0000).

First-round byes 

• No. 1 Portsmouth
• No. 2 Derryfield

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Souhegan at No. 8 Oyster River-Newmarket
• No. 12 Goffstown at No. 5 Winnacunnet
• No. 13 Pembroke at No. 4 Windham
• No. 10 Alvirne at No. 7 Hollis Brookline
• No. 14 Kingswood at No. 3 Timberlane
• No. 11 ConVal at No. 6 St. Thomas

Remaining Schedule

• Friday, May 26: Windham at Hanover, 4 p.m.; Timberlane at Merrimack Valley, 4 p.m.; Souhegan at St. Thomas, 4 p.m.; Keene-Monadnock at ConVal, 4 p.m.; Winnacunnet at Alvirne, 4:30 p.m.; Kingswood at Pembroke, 4:30 p.m.; Oyster River-Newmarket at Kennett, 4:30 p.m.; Derryfield at Hollis Brookline, 6:30 p.m.

Scenarios

• Portsmouth has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Derryfield has clinched the No. 2 seed.
• Timberlane has clinched the No. 3 seed.
• Windham clinches the No. 4 seed with a win over Hanover. A loss could drop the Jaguars as low as sixth.
• Winnacunnet clinched the No. 4 seed with a win over Alvirne and a Windham loss. The Warriors clinch the No. 5 seed with a win over Alvirne.
• St. Thomas clinches the No. 4 seed with a win over Souhegan and losses by Windham and Winnacunnet. The Saints could finish as low as No. 7 with a loss.
• Hollis Brookline, Souhegan, Oyster River-Newmarket, Alvirne, Goffstown, ConVal and Pembroke have all clinched a playoff spot.
• Kingswood clinches a playoff spot with a win over Pembroke or a loss and losses by Hanover and Merrimack Valley.

Division III

Team (Record, rating, previous)

1. Bow (14-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. Campbell (13-2, 3.4667, 2nd)
3. Pelham (10-4, 2.8571, 3rd)
4. Plymouth (11-5, 2.8125, 4th)
5. Hopkinton (10-5, 2.6667, 6th)
6. Laconia (10-5, 2.6667, 7th)
7. Coe-Brown (10-5, 2.6667, 5th)
8. Gilford (8-6, 2.2857, 8th)
9. Trinity (7-8, 1.8667, 9th)
10. Bishop Brady (5-9, 1.4286, 10th)

Eliminated: Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (4-10, 1.1429); Lebanon (4-10, 1.1429); Kearsarge (1-13, 0.2857); Stevens (0-14, 0.0000).

Ineligible: Milford (1-15, 0.2500).

Tiebreakers

• Hopkinton finishes ahead of Laconia and Coe-Brown in a three-way tiebreaker thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
• Laconia wins the tiebreaker with Coe-Brown thanks to a head-to-head victory.

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Trinity at No. 8 Gilford
• No. 10 Bishop Brady at No. 7 Coe-Brown

Quarterfinal matchups

• Trinity/Gilford at No. 1 Bow
• No. 5 Hopkinton at No. 4 Plymouth
• Bishop Brady/Coe-Brown at No. 2 Campbell
• No. 6 Laconia at No. 3 Pelham

Scenarios

• Bow has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Campbell has clinched the No. 2 seed.
• Pelham has clinched the No. 3 seed.
• Plymouth has clinched the No. 4 seed.
• Hopkinton has clinched the No. 5 seed.
• Laconia has clinched the No. 6 seed.
• Coe-Brown has clinched the No. 7 seed.
• Gilford has clinched the No. 8 seed.
• Trinity has clinched the No. 9 seed.
• Bishop Brady has clinched the No. 10 seed.

Tournament Schedule

• First-round games: Thursday, June 1.
• Quarterfinals: Saturday, June 3.
• Semifinals: Wednesday, June 7.
• Championship: Sunday, June 11.