While only three area teams made the playoffs this season, the quality among them is strong and talented enough that it’s feasible for hardware to come back to the capital area.
The highlight is in Division III, where Bow and Hopkinton, the division’s top two seeds, are on a hopeful collision course for the title.
A look at the girls’ lacrosse tournament:
The Spartans enter the tournament in the midst of two-game skid where they lost to current fourth and fifth seeds Windham and Oyster River.
Pembroke has garnered enough experience throughout the season to make it into the playoffs, and it will go as far as its dynamic duo of twins Britney and Cierra Hill will take it. They’ve combined for over 300 career goals and will be instrumental in the Spartans returning to the final four and beyond.
All season long the Falcons knew they’d find their way into the postseason. The question, however, was seeding. Bow split its regular season series with Hopkinton, and the next step of the process in determining tiebreakers goes to strength of schedule, where Bow takes the edge having played 15 games compared to Hopkinton’s 14.
Championship aspirations are very real for the Falcons, but they have to continue to win before they play for a title. Bow’s first-round game is against No. 8 Pelham on Wednesday. The Falcons previously beat the Pythons, 17-2, on May 6.
Last year’s Division III runners-up, Hopkinton enters the tournament on a six-game win streak that started after its 14-13 loss to Bow on May 9.
The Hawks avenged last year’s postseason demons earlier in the season when they beat Derryfield, 19-11, on May 11 in a rematch from last season’s championship game. Their road to the June 7 title tilt begins on Wednesday when they host No. 7 St. Thomas.
Wednesday’s game will be the first between the two schools this year.