At Bedford, the seniors and stars seemed to be aligned

Bedford (N.H.) coach Christine Hodgdon, left, talks with attack Chamberlaine Bell during a game last season. (Courtesy)

From experience, senior attacks Chamberlaine Bell and Courtney Darmody know that lacrosse success is determined on the field, not in preseason polls.

In each of their first three seasons at Bedford (N.H.) High School, the final pieces to success eluded them -- two seasons reached the Division 1 championship before ending with a loss, and last season stopped in a taut semifinal.

Not that the Bulldogs haven’t been in the championship conversation. They went into Nashua last May and took down defending -- and eventual 2019 -- champion Bishop Guertin, with Sydney Lynch scoring the overtime winner in a 12-11 thriller that saw them battle back from behind.