There is a familiar feel to the Division I girls lacrosse playoffs

If you liked the Division I girls lacrosse quarterfinals in 2018, well there is some good news for you this week.

All four of the 2019 first-round games will be the same matchups from a year ago, and three of the four will feature the same two teams meeting for the third straight year.

And for two of those teams - No. 1 Pinkerton and No. 8 Londonderry - it will be the ninth time the two have played in the last three seasons.

For the last three seasons, the final four has featured the same four teams - the Astros, along with Souhegan, Bedford and Bishop Guertin - with all of them reaching the championship game at least once. Bedford, which has played in the last two finals, is the only one of the four that hasn't won a title since 2015.

Since Bedford and Bishop Guertin moved up to D1 before the 2015 season, the top seed hasn't won the championship. In fact, only one No. 1 seed has even advanced to the title game in the last four years, while two teams seeded fourth - Pinkerton in 2016 and the Cardinals last year - have won it all.

Here's a look at Wednesday's quarterfinal matchups.

No. 8 Londonderry (9-9) at No. 1 Pinkerton (17-1), 5 p.m.

• The Astros won two regular-season meetings with the Lancers by combined score of 36-12, although the second game was close in the first half before Pinkerton pulled away. Londonderry comes in having won six of its final nine games, with the three losses all against playoff teams. In the Lancers' nine wins, they outscored opponents by an average of 12.3 goals, but in their nine losses, they had a goal differential of minus-79. Pinkerton ended the regular season on a 14-game winning streak. The Astros have been solid on both sides of the field, scoring at least 12 goals in every game this year and averaging 16.4 per game. Defensively, only five teams scored more than eight goals against the Astros.
• Pick: Pinkerton 18, Londonderry 6.

No. 5 Nashua South (11-7) at No. 4 Souhegan (13-3), 5 p.m.

• The Sabers won the regular-season meeting between the two 14-10 back on April 30. The two teams also met in the playoffs in 2017 and 2018, with Souhegan winning 17-1 and 14-3, respectively. This is South's third straight trip to the postseason and the 11 wins is the most by the Panthers since they won their last title in 2007. That championship game was also the last time they beat the Sabers. South has been able to score a lot of goals this year, but the loss to Souhegan was the only time they reached double digits in defeat. The Sabers' defense has been stingy all year, allowing more than 11 goals just twice this season.
• Pick: Souhegan 11, Nashua South 10.

No. 7 Exeter (10-8) at No. 2 Bedford (15-1), 5 p.m.

• The Bulldogs took the regular-season game 18-5 back on April 24, in what was the Blue Hawks' biggest loss of the season. Exeter played many of the top teams close, with five of its losses by three goals or fewer. The Blue Hawks lost five of their final seven games, including two to seacoast rivals Portsmouth and Winnacunnet, both of whom are in Division II. Like Pinkerton, Bedford bounced back from its only loss of the year with a lengthy win streak, as the Bulldogs have won 10 in a row. On defense, Bedford has allowed more than nine goals just four times this season, allowing an average of 6.6 per game. The Bulldogs also averaged 16.5 goals a game this season.
• Pick: Bedford 15, Exeter 8.

No. 6 Merrimack (9-7) at No. 3 Bishop Guertin (16-2), 4:30 p.m.

• The Cardinals had little trouble with the Tomahawks when they met in the regular season, with Bishop Guertin grabbing a 20-9 win on May 1. This is also the third year in a row these two will meet in the quarterfinals, as the Cardinals won 18-5 in 2017 and 10-5 last year. Merrimack battled injuries throughout the regular season and needed a win over Londonderry in its final game to clinch a playoff spot. In the Tomahawks' final three games, they outscored their opponents 51-18. The Cardinals got a lot of scoring this year from their underclassmen, as they averaged 15.8 goals per game this year and were held to fewer than 14 goals just four times. Bishop Guertin's defense allowed more nine goals just four times.
• Pick: Bishop Guertin 16, Merrimack 9.

Playoff Predictions

Preseason

• Playoff teams: Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Exeter, Londonderry, Merrimack, Nashua South, Pinkerton, Souhegan.
• Final four: Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Pinkerton, Souhegan.
• Championshop: Pinkerton over Bedford.

Now

Not only are the playoff matchups the same for the second year in a row, but we also got all of our preseason playoff picks right for the second straight season. We'll stick with the preseason predictions the rest of the way, too.

• Final four: Bedford over Bishop Guertin; Pinkerton over Souhegan.
• Championship: Pinkerton over Bedford.