Playoff Picture: Girls Lacrosse (May 23)

The final week of the high school lacrosse regular season is here and there’s a lot still to be determined before it ends.

Every day this week, we’ll keep track of where every team stands as we creep closer to the playoffs. As we get closer to the end of the week, we’ll add in scenarios for each division.

Note: With the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, Division I will have nine playoff teams, Division II will have 12 teams and Division III will have 11 teams in the playoffs. Per By-Law Article IV, Sect. 4-C, teams that petitioned down a division for this two-year cycle are 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 (14-2, 3.4667, 1st)
2. Portsmouth (13-2, 3.4000, 2nd)
3. Bedford (13-3, 3.2500, 3rd)
4. Souhegan (13-3, 3.2500, 4th)
5. Pinkerton (12-6, 2.6667, 5th)
6. Nashua South (10-7, 2.3529, 7th)
7. Exeter (10-7, 2.3529, 6th)
8. Londonderry (7-9, 1.7500, 8th)
9. Dover (6-11, 1.4118, 9th)

Outside: Merrimack (5-10, 1.3333).

Eliminated: Concord (3-13, 0.7500); Salem (2-15, 0.4706); Nashua North (1-16, 0.2353).

Tiebreakers

• Bedford wins the tiebreaker with Souhegan thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Nashua South wins the tiebreaker with Exeter thanks to a head-to-head victory.

First-round Matchup (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Dover at No. 8 Londonderry

Quarterfinal Matchups

• Dover/Londonderry winner at No. 1 Bishop Guertin
• No. 5 Pinkerton at No. 4 Souhegan
• No. 7 Exeter at No. 2 Portsmouth
• No. 6 Nashua Southat No. 3 Bedford

Remaining Schedule

• Thursday, May 23: Nashua South at Merrimack, 3:30 p.m.; Londonderry at Bow, 4 p.m.; Bishop Guertin at Newburyport, 4 p.m.; Winnacunnet at Exeter, 4 p.m.; Derryfield at Nashua North, 4 p.m.
• Friday, May 24: Portsmouth at Souhegan, 6 p.m.

Scenarios

• Bishop Guertin clinches the No. 1 seed with a win over Newburyport or a loss and a Portsmouth loss to Souhegan.
• Portsmouth would clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over Souhegan and a Bishop Guertin loss to Newburyport.
• Portsmouth clinches at least the No. 2 seed with a win over Souhegan. The Sabers would be the No. 4 seed.
• Souhegan would clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over Portsmouth. The Clippers would be the No. 4 seed.
• Bedford has clinched the No. 3 seed.
• Pinkerton has clinched the No. 5 seed.
• Nashua South clinches the No. 6 seed with a win over Merrimack or a loss and an Exeter loss to Winnacunnet. The Panthers can finish no lower than No. 7.
• Exeter clinches the No. 6 seed with a win over Winnacunnet and a South loss to Merrimack. The Blue Hawks can finish no lower than No. 7.
• Londonderry has clinched the No. 8 seed.
• Dover clinches the No. 9 seed with a Merrimack loss to South. The Tomahawks would be eliminated.
• Merrimack clinches the No. 9 seed with a win over South. The Green Wave would be eliminated.

Division II

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Winnacunnet (16-1, 3.8824, 1st)
2. Windham (14-2, 3.5625, 2nd)
3. Timberlane (13-3, 3.3750, 3rd)
4. Hanover (10-4, 2.8571, 4th)
5. Merrimack Valley (10-4, 2.8571, 5th)
6. Hollis Brookline (9-6, 2.4667, 6th)
7. John Stark/Hillsboro-Deering (8-5, 2.4615, 8th)
8. Goffstown (11-7, 2.4444, 7th)
9. Kennett (7-6, 2.1538, 9th)
10. Oyster River-Newmarket (7-8, 1.8667, 10th)
11. Kingswood (5-8, 1.5385, 11th)
12. Keene-Monadnock (5-10, 1.3333, 12th)

Outside: Manchester Central (5-10, 1.3333).

Eliminated: Pembroke (4-10, 1.1429); Manchester Memorial-West (4-10, 1.1429); Spaulding (2-11, 0.6154); ConVal (1-12, 0.3077); Alvirne (0-13, 0.0000).

Tiebreaker

• Hanover wins the tiebreaker with Merrimack Valley thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Keene-Monadnock wins the tiebreaker with Manchester Central thanks to a head-to-head victory.

First-round Byes (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Winnacunnet
• No. 2 Windham
• No. 3 Timberlane
• No. 4 Hanover

First-round Matchups

• No. 9 Kennett at No. 8 Goffstown
• No. 12 Keene-Monadnock at No. 5 Merrimack Valley
• No. 10 Oyster River-Newmarket at No. 7 John Stark/Hillsboro-Deering
• No. 11 Kingswood at No. 6 Hollis Brookline

Remaining Schedule

• Thursday, May 23: Alvirne at John Stark/Hillsboro-Deering, 4 p.m.; Keene-Monadnock at Windham, 4 p.m.; Winnacunnet at Exeter, 4 p.m.; Manchester Memorial-West at ConVal, 6 p.m.; Hanover at Pembroke, 6 p.m.
• Friday, May 24: Spaulding at Hollis Brookline, 4 p.m.; Kingswood at Kennett, 4 p.m.
• Saturday, May 25: Brattleboro Union at Keene-Monadnock, 9 a.m.

Scenarios

• Winnacunnet has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Windham clinches the No. 2 seed with a win over Keene-Monadnock. Timberlane would then be the No. 3 seed.
• Timberlane clinches the No. 2 seed with a Windham loss. Windham would then be the No. 3 seed.
• Hanover clinches the No. 4 seed with a win over Pembroke. Merrimack Valley would then be the No. 5 seed.
• Merrimack Valley clinches the No. 4 seed with a Hanover loss. Hanover would then be the No. 5 seed.
• John Stark/Hillsboro-Deering clinches the No. 6 seed with a win over Alvirne. JSHD could fall as far as the No. 9 seed with a loss.
• Hollis Brookline clinches the No. 6 seed with a win over Spaudling and JSHD loss. The Cavaliers could fall as far as the No. 8 seed with a loss.
• Goffstown has clinched a home playoff game and will be seeded somewhere between Nos. 6-8.
• Kennett could clinch the No. 8 seed with a win over Kingswood and a JSHD loss. Tiebreakers will come down to which team claims the final playoff spot, or which teams end up tied for that spot.
• Oyster River-Newmarket has clinched the No. 10 seed.
• Kingswood has clinched a playoff spot.
• Keene-Monadnock clinches the final playoff spot with a win in either of its final two games. The Blackbirds would be eliminated with two losses.
• Manchester Central would clinch the final playoff spot with two losses by Keene-Monadnock. The Little Green win the tiebreakers with Manchester Memorial-West and Pembroke, if any or all of those teams ended in a tie.

Division III

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. St. Thomas (14-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. Bow (14-2, 3.5000, 2nd)
3. Gilford (12-2, 3.4286, 4th)
4. Hopkinton (12-2, 3.4286, 3rd)
5. Derryfield (10-4, 2.9286, 6th)
6. Pelham (10-4, 2.8571, 5th)
7. Lebanon (9-5, 2.5714, 7th)
8. Coe-Brown (8-5, 2.4615, 8th)
9. Laconia (7-7, 2.0000, 9th)
10. Trinity (6-9, 1.6000, 10th)
11. Plymouth (4-10, 1.1429, 11th)

Outside: Bishop Brady (4-10, 1.1429); Kearsarge (3-10, 0.9231).

Eliminated: Campbell (2-11, 0.6154); Concord Christian (1-13, 0.2857); Milford (1-14, 0.2667); Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (0-13, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• Gilford wins the tiebreaker with Hopkinton thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Plymouth wins the tiebreaker with Bishop Brady thanks to a better rating in road games against division opponents.

First-round Matchups (change in bold)

• No. 9 Laconia at No. 8 Coe-Brown
• No. 10 Trinity at No. 7 Lebanon
• No. 11 Plymouth at No. 6 Pelham

Quarterfinal Matchups

• Laconia/Coe-Brown winner at No. 1 St. Thomas
• No. 5 Derryfield at No. 4 Hopkinton
• Trinity/Lebanon winner at No. 2 Bow
• Plymouth/Pelham winner at No. 3 Gilford

Remaining Schedule

• Thursday, May 23: Londonderry at Bow, 4 p.m.; Derryfield at Nashua North, 4 p.m.; Campbell at Kearsarge, 6 p.m.
• Friday, May 24: Plymouth at Coe-Brown, 4 p.m.; Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough at Derryfield, 4 p.m.

Scenarios

• St. Thomas has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Bow clinches the No. 2 seed with a win over Londonderry. A loss would drop the Falcons to No. 4.
• Gilford clinches the No. 2 seed with a Bow loss. Otherwise, the Golden Eagles will be the No. 3 seed.
• Hopkinton clinches the No. 3 seed with a Bow loss. Otherwise, the Hawks will be the No. 4 seed.
• Derryfield clinches the No. 5 seed with a win over Nashua North. If the Cougars lose both their remaining games, they could drop as low as No. 8.
• Pelham clinches the N0. 5 seed with a Derryfield loss to Nashua North. Otherwise, the Pythons will be the No. 6 seed.
• Lebanon would move up to the No. 6 seed with two Derryfield losses. Otherwise, the Raiders will be the No. 7 seed.
• Coe-Brown would move up the No. 7 seed with two Derryfield losses. Otherwise, the Bears will be the No. 8 seed, regardless of a win or loss against Plymouth.
• Laconia has clinched the No. 9 seed.
• Trinity has clinched the No. 10 seed.
• Plymouth clinches the No. 11 seed with a win over Coe-Brown. A loss eliminates the Bobcats.
• Kearsarge clinches the No. 11 seed with a win over Campbell and a Plymouth loss. The Cougars hold the tiebreaker with Bishop Brady.
• Bishop Brady clinches the No. 11 seed with losses by Plymouth and Kearsarge.