Ten local girls lacrosse squads to compete in state tournament

Nick Giannino, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·4 min read

Jun. 4—A total of 1 local teams qualified for this spring's MIAA girls lacrosse state tournament.

There's a lot to break down as competition looms, so let's get right to it.

Division 1

Top seed: Walpole (18-2)

Local teams in mix: Peabody (No. 24 at 15-3); Beverly (No. 33 at 12-8)

The Tanners strung together a fantastic regular season under first-year head coach Michelle Roach, emphasizing a complete approach to all three phases of the game with offense, defense and goaltending. Now, they'll embark on what they hope will be a deep tourney run when they head to No. 9 Hingham Wednesday (5 p.m.). With a win, they'd advance to the Sweet 16 to face the victor of No. 17 Bishop Feehan and No. 16 Reading.

Beverly will have to top No. 32 Woburn on the road (time and date TBD) in a preliminary round contest for a chance to take on top-seeded Walpole in the Round of 32.

Division 2

Top seed: Notre Dame-Hingham (16-4)

Local teams in mix: Masconomet (No. 8 at 14-6); Danvers (No. 26 at 11-7); Marblehead (No. 30 at 7-11)

Masco really tested itself with challenging out-of-conference bouts to close out the regular season, which should bode well for its tournament chances. The Chieftains and will host No. 26 Ursuline Academy in the Round of 32 (time and date TBD). Should they advance, they'd see the winner of No. 9 Scituate and No. 24 Falmouth; top-seeded Notre Dame-Hingham also lies on the Chieftains' side of the bracket, with a potential late round matchup in the cards.

Danvers played some of its best lacrosse down the regular season stretch and will head to No. 7 Agawam (time and date TBD) in a first round matchup. The winner will take on the winner of No. 10 Holliston and No. 23 Oliver Ames.

Marblehead also earned its spot in the one-and-done competition, securing the No. 30 seed. The Magicians battled admirably all season long and benefited from some competitive losses and an overall strong strength of schedule. Head coach Annie Madden's squad will look to upend No. 35 Tantasqua Regional in the preliminary round (time and date TBD) for a chance to take on No. 3 Bedford next.

Division 3

Top seed: Newburyport (17-1)

Local teams in the mix: Essex Tech (No. 13 at 16-2); Swampscott (No. 14 at 10-6); Bishop Fenwick (No. 21 at 8-10)

Essex Tech reeled off another dominant season in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference, going unbeaten en route to a league title. With just two out-of-conference losses, the Hawks earned the No. 13 seed in a competitive Div. 3 bracket, setting up a first round match with No. 20 Shawsheen (time and date TBD). Essex Tech already beat Shawsheen twice in the regular season (11-6 and 16-8), and if they can make it a clean sweep, they'll likely draw No. 4 Weston in the Sweet 16.

Swampscott came in just behind the Hawks after another successful regular season run under new (and former) head coach Al Eaton. The Big Blue sit on the other side of the draw and will take on No. 19 North Middlesex (time and date TBD) in the first round; if they take care of business, No. 3 Bromfield will be waiting in the Sweet 16.

Bishop Fenwick also earned a first round game; it will take on No. 12 Apponequet (time and date TBD). The Crusaders are on the same side of the draw as Essex Tech, but a potential clash between those two teams wouldn't happen until the Elite 8.

Division 4

Top seed: Manchester Essex (15-2)

Local teams in mix: Ipswich (No. 5 at 9-7); Hamilton-Wenham (No. 6 at 11-7)

Both Ipswich and Hamilton-Wenham, who shared a couple of competitive battles in Cape Ann League play during the regular season, garnered high seeds. The Tigers will await the winner of No. 28 Bourne and No. 37 Upper Cape Cod, and should they advance, they'd face the winner of No. 12 Monomoy and No. 21 Watertown in the Sweet 16.

The Generals, meanwhile, find themselves on the other side of the bracket and will open up against No. 27 Wahconah in the Round of 32. Whichever team emerges from that battle draws draws the winner of No. 11 Triton and No. 22 St. John Paul II.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.