April 15, 2011
HS notebook: Two-way race expected in Granite State
Pinkerton, Bishop Guertin are tops in Division I
by Roger Brown/
When the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association sanctioned boys lacrosse as a varsity sport in 1994, Pinkerton Academy was the state’s dominant program. The Astros won eight of the state’s first nine championships.
Since then, however, Bishop Guertin (Nashua) has been the most successful program in Division I. The Cardinals have reached the Division I championship game in each of the last six years, and earned the title three times during that span. BG beat Exeter, 15-10, in last year’s Division I title game.
Many lacrosse followers expect BG and Pinkerton to fight it out for the Division I championship this spring.
Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly has a 400-122 record in 30 seasons as Pinkerton’s coach, but his Astros haven’t won a state championship since 2006.
Offense may be Pinkerton’s strength this season. Attackmen Tom and Jeff Auger (cousins) combined to score 66 goals last year. The Astros also have an experienced goalkeeper in junior Pearce Connal.
The Bishop Guertin roster includes several players who have committed to play Division 1 college lacrosse. The group includes attackman Matt Thistle (Manhattan), midfielder Eric Kelly (Manhattan), attackman Alex Eaton (Lehigh) and defenseman Bob Fahey (Massachusetts). Thistle, Kelly and Fahey are seniors. Eaton is a junior.
BG goalkeeper Colin Delea is a two-year starter.
BG, which hasn’t lost a regular-season league game since 2007, will play at Pinkerton on May 16.
Connecticut
St. Joseph senior defenseman Alex Stefkovich, a four-year starter, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play college lacrosse for Mount St. Mary’s University, a Division 1 program located in Emmitsburg, Md.
St. Joseph midfielders Pat Corcoran (Quinnipiac), Pat Mulligan (Quinnipiac) and L.J. Hunt (Yale) have also committed to play lacrosse in college.
Maine
The Gorham and Scarborough girls lacrosse programs crossed paths in the regional semifinals last season, and no one should be surprised if the teams meet in the postseason again this year.
Scarborough, which won the 2010 Class A title, returns 16 players from an undefeated team that outscored its opponents 259-111. Gorham returns junior Mia Rapolla, the state’s leading scorer last season (110 goals).
Massachusetts
Mercer Island (Wash.), which has reached nine of the last 10 state championship games in Washington, went 2-1 during its three non-league games against Massachusetts schools last week. Mercer Island defeated Duxbury 7-6 in overtime, beat Lincoln-Sudbury 7-5 and lost to Concord-Carlisle 9-5.
The victory over Duxbury was the first time a school from Washington had beaten a nationally-ranked team in boys lacrosse.
Rhode Island
Steve O’Donnell returned as LaSalle Academy’s boys lacrosse coach this year even though he accepted a job as head of the Rhode Island State Police in the offseason.
O’Donnell has been LaSalle’s coach since 2006, and his teams have a 46-15 regular-season record during that time. He was named the Rhode Island Coach of the Year in 2008.
Vermont
The Champlain Valley Union boys lacrosse team, which finished as the Division I runner-up in three of the past four years, raised its record to 2-0 by beating Woodstock 17-8 Tuesday. Nate Wells collected four goals and four assists for CVU, which hasn’t won the Division I title since 2006.
