Bishop Guertin's Lindsay Hult (17) will be a huge, tenacious key for the Cardinals in her senior season this spring. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

If you’re looking for success in local high school sports, look no further than girls lacrosse.

The latest success before the dark year of 2020 were two straight Bishop Guertin Division I titles, a consistent Divison I contender in Souhegan, as well as one in Division II with Hollis Brookline (finals in 2018 and semis in 2019).

Will there be more success this year?

Let’s take a look:

DIVISION I

The Cards certainly have the talent to pull off a threepeat, starting with senior midfielders Lindsay Hult and Mimi Piercy, plus junior Rylee Bouvier. Returning junior Delaney Ramalho will anchor the defense, while heading the attack will be the one-two punch of senior Maddy Keating and junior Natalie Coutu.

“We need to be selfless and not play ‘hero’ lacrosse,” Why said. “We need to utilize all of our player resources and hit the open player. Every attacker and middie that is on the field will be able to consistently finish, and most of our defenders, too.”

Nashua South hopes to be competitive in the regional setup, as an experienced team from two years ago has the promise of youth. Keys include junior attack Olivia Johnson, junior midfield/attack Kaitlyn West, junior middie/defender Soleil Dubois, and freshman midfielder Ella Benzekri.

“As long as we can stay healthy, we absolutely expect to be competitive this season,” South coach Ciki McIntire said, “since we have a team full of well-rounded athletes.”

It’s a rebuilding year for Nashua North, despite what Titans coach Kristen Peterson calls “strong senior leadership.”

Keys include seniors Lily Brooks (midfielder), Samantha Canto (goalie), Kaitlyn Laurendi (midfield, defense) and Kiley O’Brien (midfield), plus junior midfield/attack Keira Sice.

Merrimack is putting the pieces back together after missing last season and having a solid 2019. Key players include senior defender Vanessa Kosinski, junior attack Paige Rivet, sophomore midfielder Hailey River, junior defnder Elise Fasano, soph middie Lilly Marshall, and soph middie Camryn Gaumont.

“This team has great enthusiasm,” Tomahawks coach Sarah Rothhaus said. “We plan to work hard and have fun.”

Souhegan has some standouts, not the least of which are UNH-bound senior attacker Abby Hawkes, senior defender Ava Stine (set for Flager University), junior midfielder Elle Stevenson (Boston Univerity) and junior attacker Cali Bishop (Louisville). Amazing.

Other keys to help Stine out defensiely are junioer defender Sierra Kimball and junior goalkeeper Shannon Hargreaves.

“We put a lot of time into team building in the off-season and the girls have created a strong bond,” Curro said. “We have a lot of tools in our shed and can’t wait to take the field. … We’re going to surprise a lot of people this season.”

Merrimack

DIVISION II

Hollis Brookline has been a steady contender, reaching the semifinals two years ago. Two four year starters are returning, seniors Brooke Allanach and Abbey Magnuszewski, the latter an All-State midfielder. They’ll engineer the Cavs offense.

Four junior defenders are in their third years and will form one of the division’s top defenses: Abbie Ogren, Elie Maxwell, Morgan Broadhurst and Nicole Heiter.

Maxwell said the Cavs will take a different approach this season with the open tournament. “Player and team development will be the focus during the regular season games,” he said. “Once we get into the playoffs the focus will shift to winning every game.”

Alvirne will have some talent, just players looking to make that two-year jump, with 11 back from the 2019 team.

“Seven of the 11 players returning were freshmen at that time,” Alvirne coach Carrie Casey said. “Now they’re ending their junior year.”

Key Bronco seniors include Hailey Ramalhino, Erin Baker, Charlotte Malone and Allison Nazaario.

And there are very talented juniors, led by Madison Nicolosi and Halle Miller, plus Elsa Ferullo.

DIVISION III

Two years ago, the Cougars missed the playoffs by a game. Playing that combined Division II-III schedule, they’ll try to make up for lost time with just a couple of seniors, including defender Julia Theriault. The core is juniors, led by midfielders Bailey Bourque and Josei Oberto, plus attackers Brooke Stoncius and Elayna Montenero. Keep an eye too on soph defender Kristina Castellano.

“Missing last year really hurt due to the youth of our team and the positive direction we were going in,” Cougars coach Mike Theriault said. “Even though we haven’t layed for a year, there are high expectations as those core players have been playing together since youth lacrosse.”

Tough teams in the division include St. Thomas, Bow, Hopkinton and Derryfield.

Milford, with co-coaches Betsey Kallfelz and Caitlin Farnham, will keep making progress as a relatively new program. They are set to open up on Friday vs. ConVal and will get some good experience with three games vs. Campbell.

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