Tough schedule gave Bishop Guertin girls lacrosse experience it needed to repeat as D1 champs

When the schedule was being put togther for the Bishop Guertin High School girls lacrosse team, there was one out-of-state game that looked like it might not fit.

The Cardinals had their required games against their Division I opponents all lined up, and they had three games slotted against teams from Massachusetts. But there was a contest against Cohasset that, even going into the last week of the regular season, didn't have a set date.

Bishop Guertin ended up going on the road to play that game on May 21, nine days before the start of the postseason, and the Cardinals returned to Nashua with a 17-14 loss that not only kept them from getting the top seed, but dropped them to No. 3 in the division.

It turned out to be the best thing that could happen to Bishop Guertin.

After an opening-round win over Merrimack, the Cardinals pulled out one-goal wins over Bedford and Pinkerton, in the semifinals and final, respectively, to win their second D1 championship in a row, and third in five years.

"I think that Cohasset game was huge for us because it gave us a loss," Cardinals coach Kerry Gobiel said. "That kind of made us say where are we. It was a good turning point in the season. We could have beat that team if we played our game. We came back to what is our game."

The Cardinals' game got them through several tough contests during the regular season, as they won their other three games against out-of-state competition, beating Chelmsford, Westford and Andover by a combined 19 goals.

Bishop Guertin also faced challenges from within the division, beating Pinkerton, Souhegan and Exeter during the regular season by an average of 3.3 goals, and the Cardinals also got pushed in a non-division game against Hanover, as they got out to a big first half lead before holding on for an 18-13 win.

"I think knowing and having an overtime game (in the final) against Bedford last year, and they’re such an unbelievably powerful offensive team, and Pinkerton also is, that was helpful to us," Gobiel said. "And playing a semifinal game against a team like Bedford, also a one-goal game, I think prepared us to be playing high-level competition before that game."

While Bishop Guertin (19-2 in 2019) lost a handful of good players from the team that won the championship in 2018, it returned not only a group of seniors who had the experience of winning a title, but there also a dozen sophomores and juniors who in some way contributed.

And that doesn't include the four freshmen added to this year's roster, all of whom played a key role during the Cardinals' championship run.

That makes Gobiel optimistic for next season, despite losing nine seniors, although she knows the other contenders in the division have plenty of talent returning.

"It’s going to be the same situation next year," the coach said. "We’re all losing a few key players, but we all have some great depth and younger players who can come in and make a huge impact.

"I think we’re seeing a lot of kids being able to come in as freshmen and make an immediate impact because of club (teams) and playing year-round. How this sport has grown in New Hampshire so much, it’s just elevating everyone's high school team.