Nashua South's Ella Benzekri (14) is harrassed by Merrimack's Kyleigh Perella (5) earlier this season. The Panthes have high hopes going into the tourney, and Merrimack will be looking to make some noise as well.(Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The landscape has changed, and just how much will be determined in the next 10 days.

It’s all because girls lacrosse power Portsmouth High School moved up from Divison II to Divsion I. That’s an extra challenge for consistent top division powers Bishop Guertin and Bedford, and opens the door for previous Division II contenders, especially Hollis Brookline.

It just adds up to what will be an interesting state tournament in both divisions, after what’s been an interesting and different season.

Here’s a look:

DIVISION I

The nine team field is set, we’re just not sure how they’ll all end up. But locally we’ll have Nashua South, BG, Souhegan and Merrimack all competing.

Let’s jump ahead to see who could end up in the Final Four. Theoretically, the three best teams are Portsmouth, Bedford and BG, and Nashua South’s magnificent season (11-4), pace by well-rounded players like Ella Benzekri, could land them in the semis which would be huge for the program.

The seeding will be interesting, but Dover (13-3)is also in the mix a likely third seed and quarterfinal opponent for BG. The Cards got a huge win in beating the Green Wave, 17-11.

After the Clippers throttled BG in the season’s second week, it looked like they would soar through the rest of the schedule.But they fell to Bedford, and the Bulldogs also beat BG in a competitive rain-soaked game a month ago,10-8. See what we mean?

The Cards may lack the vast offensive firepower they’ve had, but senior Tess Prunier has developed into a scorer, and defensively they’ve improved led by Kate Daley. It’s likely they would have to tangle with Portsmouth in a potential semifinal.

“I think Portsmouth, Bedford and our team are all in the mix, any given Sunday,” Why said. “Bedford has that core of players that want it really really badly. Portsmouth has the breath and depth. I think we have breath and depth, but we had a rocky start. But we’ve learned and grown so much since (the Portsmouth loss). Who (opponents) are going to face is a totally different defense, a totally different offense. And our draw work is continuous.”

Souhegan and Merrimack have had good seasons and could make some noise. The Sabers (7-8) are paced by scorers like Emmy Kennedy and Natalie Heimarck. Merrimack (7-8) has the dependable Ava Martin and others. The ‘Hawks could end up playing Exeter in an 8-9 game.

Back up to the top: Dover could crash the Final Four party, but we’d say the way the Panthers have played might get them a spot in the semis. They could have to play Pinkerton in a quarterfinal.

But Why is right. Bedford is a determined team after losing to BG in last year’s finals thanks to a slow start in that game.

THE PICK: Bedford over Portsmouth

DIVISION II

The local to watch is Hollis Brookline, the players to watch are many, but you start with scorers like Alyssa and Sabrina Hill, plus Bella Haytayan and Paige Mello. Coach Linda Haytayan has had a plethora of athletes. But even with Portsmouth gone, the regualr season has shown the Cavs aren’t a cinch for the finals because they’ve lost twice to the Windham Jaguars and also just a week ago to top seeded Hanover. That’s a team the Cavaliers have been able to beat in the past, but the Bears have taken it up a notch. HB likely will have to beat Windham to get to the title game.

Plenty of teams to make life difficult for the Cavs, who would like to vault past Goffstown, a team they toyed with during vacation week, and into the top four. The semis and finals are at Stellos Stadium.

DIVISION III

The Spartans have had an up and down year, but let’s face it, two years ago when they didn’t win a game, winning eight or nine games and possibly making the postseason for coach Steve Vetack’s crew is a huge step. They revolve around 100 goal Kelci Waters and fellow senior Bailey Johnson, and could make some noise if they are able to qualify for the postseason. A totally unofficial look would put them vs. Pelham (a 13-8 regular season loss) in a first round. But it’s likely powerful Bow or St. Thomas’ title.

THE PICK: Bow. It could be a Bow lax boy-girl sweep.

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