Fall Sports

Playoff Picture: Field Hockey (Sept. 26)

It's the final week of September and it seems that the teams that will be in the postseason are starting to separate themselves. Of the three divisions, only one saw a team from the outside move into the field in the last week. But while there wasn't a lot of movement there, several teams in Divisio

It's the final week of September and it seems that the teams that will be in the postseason are starting to separate themselves.

Of the three divisions, only one saw a team from the outside move into the field in the last week. But while there wasn't a lot of movement there, several teams in Division I and II continued to jockey for seeding. With some big games coming up this week, that will continue to happen.

Here is what the standings and matchups look like heading into the week.

Note: For field hockey, Division I will have 11 teams, Division II will have 14 teams and Division III will have 11 teams. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. These are not official standings or pairings.

Division I

Team (record, rating, last week)

Windham (9-0-1, 3.8000, 1st)
Bedford (8-1, 3.5556, 3rd)
Winnacunnet (8-1, 3.5556, 4th)
Exeter (8-1-1, 3.4000, 2nd)
Bishop Guertin (6-2-1, 2.8889, 7th)
Concord (6-3, 2.6667, 5th)
Dover (6-3, 2.6667, 6th)
Man. Central-West (4-4, 2.0000, 9th)
Londonderry (5-6, 1.8182, 11th)
Keene (4-5, 1.7778, 10th)
Pinkerton (4-5, 1.7778, 8th)

Outside: Salem (2-5-1, 1.2500); Timberlane (2-6, 1.0000); Nashua South (2-7, 0.8889); Merrimack (1-9, 0.4000); Manchester Memorial (0-8, 0.0000); Nashua North (0-9, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

Bedford wins the tiebreaker with Winnacunnet thanks to a head-to-head victory.
Concord wins the tiebreaker with Dover thanks to a head-to-head victory.
Keene wins the tiebreaker with Pinkerton thanks to a better rating in road games against divisional opponents.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

No. 1 Windham
No. 2 Bedford
No. 3 Winnacunnet
No. 4 Exeter
No. 5 Bishop Guertin

First-round matchups

No. 9 Londonderry at No. 8 Man. Central-West
No. 10 Keene at No. 7 Dover
No. 11 Pinkerton at No. 6 Concord

Division II

Team (record, rating, last week)

John Stark (7-0, 4.0000, 3rd)
Souhegan (7-0, 4.0000, 1st)
Portsmouth (8-1, 3.5556, 2nd)
Hanover (3-1, 3.0000, 5th)
Kennett (6-2, 3.0000, 6th)
Derryfield (6-2, 3.0000, 7th)
Hollis Brookline (5-2, 2.8571, 8th)
Oyster River (4-3, 2.2857; 4th)
Merrimack Valley (4-4, 2.0000, 11th)
Lebanon (3-3-1, 2.0000, 9th)
Sanborn (3-3-1, 2.0000, 10th)
Kingswood (3-4-1, 1.7500, 14th)
Goffstown (3-4, 1.7143, 13th)
Pembroke (3-5-1, 1.5556, 12th)

Outside: Bow (2-4-1, 1.4286); Milford (1-7-1, 0.6667); Pelham (1-6, 0.5714); Plymouth (1-7, 0.5000); ConVal (1-7, 0.5000); Laconia (1-8, 0.4444).

Tiebreakers

John Stark wins the tiebreaker with Souhegan thanks to a better quality of wins against tournament teams.
In a three-way tiebreaker, Hanover finishes ahead of Kennett and Derryfield thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
Kennett wins the tiebreaker over Derryfield thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
In a three-way tiebreaker, Merrimack Valley finishes ahead of Lebanon and Sanborn thanks to a better rating in head-to-head games.
Lebanon wins the tiebreaker with Sanborn thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

No. 1 John Stark
No. 2 Souhegan

First-round matchups

No. 9 Merrimack Valley at No. 8 Oyster River
No. 12 Kingswood at No. 5 Kennett
No. 13 Goffstown at No. 4 Hanover
No. 11 Sanborn at No. 6 Derryfield
No. 10 Lebanon at No. 7 Hollis Brookline
No. 14 Pembroke at No. 3 Portsmouth

Division III

Team (record, rating, last week)

Gilford (8-0, 4.0000, 1st)
Newport (8-1, 3.5556, 2nd)
Newfound (7-1, 3.5000, 3rd)
Mascenic (4-1, 3.2000, 4th)
Stevens (6-2, 3.0000, 6th)
Conant (5-3, 2.5000, 5th)
Berlin (4-3, 2.4286, 7th)
White Mountains (3-3-2, 2.0000, 9th)
Mascoma Valley (3-4-1, 1.7500, 10th)
Winnisquam (3-4, 1.7143, 11th)
St. Thomas (3-5, 1.5000, out)

Outside: Kearsarge (3-5, 1.5000); Bishop Brady (2-4, 1.3333, 8th); Hopkinton (1-5-1, 0.8571); Littleton (1-6, 0.5714); Franklin (0-6, 0.0000); Monadnock (0-8, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers