Bishop Guertin girls soccer players celebrate their penalty-kick quaraterfinal win over city rival Nashua North last season at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

A fresh start.

That’s what the 2026 local high school girls soccer season represents for a lot of teams.

For example, Hollis Brookline, for the first time in three years, doesn’t go into a Division II season as defending state champions. Bishop Guertin has a cast of returning talent to step into key roles vacated by seniors to get back to the Final Four in Division I, same as Campbell in Division III. Former Milford coach Russ Matthews takes over at Merrimack. Nashua North will now embark on a new journey without graduated top scorers Sarah and Allie Frye. And so on, so let’s get to it:

DIVISION I

Ah, those Cardinals, 15-2-2 last year, keep knocking on the door. Offensive firepower will likely come from the creativity of senior midfielder Zoe Horton-Sousa along with the powerful shot of junior midfielder Kareena Sondhi.

Senior Emerson Brown is an offensive-minded defender who can play anywhere on the field while the defense is also anchored by juniors Paige Gabriel and Dayana Cotito.

Other players to watch include senior Caroline Goulet, and sophomores Mila Marques and Sierra Mercier.

“We’ll work together towards a successful season,” said head coach Chris Millett.

Keep an eye on Nashua South, which won just two games but used six ties last year to get into the tourney. The Panthers were a walking hospital unit with all their injuries last year, but the silver lining for coach Curt Dutilley was that younger players got valuable minutes and, as the coach said, “grew up fast.”

Key player include senior keeper Corinne Rivera, senior midfielder Ellen Bois, plus four juniors: forwards Natale Thomas and Auden King, defender Carly Benzekri and midfielder Caroline Bedell.

“The pieces are in place,” Dutilley said. “Our goal is to climb the standings, build on what we learned last season, and make the most of every opportunity this group has earned. … We couldn’t be more excited about this group and what it’s capable of.”

Nashua North will go into it looking to keep its identity what it’s always been: fundamentally sound soccer, as that got them a 13-5 season and a penalty kicks quarterfinal loss to BG away from a second straight semifinal berth – the opposite of what happened the previous season.

The Titans will be young, as they had only two juniors a year ago, midfielder-defender Lilly Small and keeper Kathleen Schreiner, who are back. They had half a dozen sophomores who as juniors could help, back, including defender Rosalie Clark and midfielder Amelia Seagle, plus sophomores Evelyn Hebert (midfielder) and Abby Azevedo (defender).

“The returning group provides the foundation, familiarity and leadership needed as the team continues to build on the success of recent seasons,” Titans coach Jacqueline Thompson said, noting that freshmen Aui Zenoni and Stella Cruz will also help as North creates its new identity.

“The 2026 season promises to be an exciting one as this group works to come together to compete for one another and create a season that is uniquely their own,” Thompson said.

Merrimack returns 23 to the program, a healthy number, led by senior captains Faith Sullivan (last year’s leading scorer) and Sarah Ganley, among with junior leaders Hailey Holbrook and Honor Helminen. Second leading scorer Lyla Carls is back, along with Emily Pelletier and Natalie Demers.

Junior Avery Rigoli, senior Lii Alicea and junior Elise Lipinski anchor the defense in new formation.

“With experienced leadership and returning talent, and a renewed focus, we’re looking to build on last yar and compete for a playoff spot,” Matthews said.

Alvirne had a tough year, searching for a win and finally got the victory feeling late in the season and are ready to move ahead.

“We have a mostly young varsity team that is looking to build on the growth we saw last year,” Broncos coach Kevin Brassard said.

Key returnees include junior midfielder Celia Fain, junior defender Ava Tardiff, sophomore defender Lisa Brown and sophomore midielder Cassie Adams.

DIVISION II

With HB, the names may not be as recognizable but the Cavs are hoping the results are relatively close to whatibau they’ve been.

Seniors defender AJ Thibault and midfielder Sam Disco lead the returnees, along with junior striker Livi Ward, plus returning keepers senior Mya Blackman and junior Maddie Leonard.

HB will also try blend the future with the present with promising freshmen midfielder Emma Shirley, forward Sammie Ward, striker Caroline Jones and midfielder Laurel Cospito.

HB coach Peter Clarke calls it a “recalibration year”.

“We’ll adapt our style of play to the new player mix,” Clarke said.

The Cavs weren’t the only contenders from last year, as Milford also made the Final Four, falling to HB in the semis.

The Spartans lost just three seniors and are returning several key players, including three All-Staters in senior back Maya Remella, senior midfielder Maggie Pelletier, and sophomore goalkeeper Delaney Barber.

Other keys are junior midfielders Kinsley Matsis and Nadia Tlapa.

“This will be a more experienced group that should be able to score some goals and produce key wins that should allow us to make a deep run in the playoffs,” Milford coach Scott Locasto said.

Souhegan wants to return to making an impact in the division, with a trio of leaders in senior forward Ava Sisher and juniors Maddy Behn (defense) and Carissa Littlefield.

Other players to watch are scoring forward Averi Curran, midfielder Emmie Curran, and sophomore keeper Camilla Brichto.

“We’ve set the tone for a competitive season,” Sabers coach Steve Hansberry said. “The girls have been working hard all summer to make an impact in Division II.”

Delaney Barber, shown during a game vs. HB last season, will be a key in goal for a Milford team that plans on being a Division II contender once again. (Courtesy file photo by Betsy Hansen)

DIVISION III

Yes, while the boys are in Division II, the Campbell girls are still in III and reached the semifinals last year and have three key All-State players coming back: Senior defender Lilly Wilson; midfielder Kayleigh Geiger, and 50 career goal scorer Amelia LaPlant.

Junior Zoe Bourque returns in goal. Two freshmen who should make an impact are Kendall Asara and Emily Oullette. “We had only two seniors graduate, have five seniors returning and a class of four freshmen,” Cougars coach Allen Lajoie said, “and Bourque looks strong in net.”

DIVISION IV

Warriors head coach Kierra Bertin is in the midst of trying to build up the program virtually from scratch. Following the Emily Jacob Era of some six years ago, the Warriors went without a girls program for a couple of years and then began playing on the JV level and then got their feet wet back on varsity last year. It will be a work in progress.