Boys
Woodstock
After finishing last season 7-9 and falling in the first round of the VPA Division I playoffs to Rice Memorial, the Woodstock Wasps return a bounty of players and are hard at work to improve this season.
“I feel pretty good that we will have a very strong year in Division I this year,” Head Coach Brandon Little said. “We have a tough schedule — I don’t know if we can win every game, that’s never our goal, but we want to be in the final four.”
Among the key returners for the Wasps are senior goalie Rowan Larmie, senior defenders Joaquin Jones-Welker, Dominic Palazzo, Milo Farrington, and sophomore defender Taylor Underwood.
Senior Asher Emery, junior Kelton Maxham, and sophomore Cole Little return to the midfield, while seniors Kyler Eaton, Ian Coates, and sophomore Declan Roylance return on attack.
In addition to the returners, Little said a few freshmen and some sophomores will see some time and potentially make an impact this season.
“I think we have a real nice mix of experience and some newcomers that have the athleticism to play,” Little said.
The Wasps opened their season on Wednesday and fell to Burr & Burton on the road, 12-8. Up next, the squad will host Hartford on Tuesday.
Hanover
The Bears finished 6-10 last season and were bounced in the quarterfinals of the NHIAA Division II playoffs by Winnacunnet.
This season, though, brings about a new era for boys lacrosse at Hanover High as the Bears welcome a new coach, Geoff Colla, who replaces former coach Sean Murphy.
With a new leader at the helm, the Bears have gotten off to a good start, routing Alvirne on the road on Wednesday, 15-3 in their season opener.
Standout performers from the win include Silas Clifford, who had 10 ground balls and an assist, John Taylor, who was 18 of 21 on faceoffs and also had 10 ground balls, Sam Bagatell, who scored 5 goals and notched an assist, and Zach McCarthy, who scored twice and added two assists.
Hanover hosts Portsmouth High on Friday before it opens play next week on Monday at Timberlane.
Hartford
Last season, the Hurricanes, who finished 15-3, came up just short of securing a third straight VPA Division II state championship, falling to Harwood.
The perennial Division II powerhouse, which has appeared in every state final since 2022 and won two of them, opened its season on Thursday, routing Mt. Anthony 16-0. The Canes’ 2026 campaign continues on Tuesday when they visit Woodstock.
Lebanon
The Raiders finished 9-7 last season and were eliminated from the playoffs in the NHIAA Division III quarterfinals by eventual state champion Plymouth, falling 11-3.
This season, Head Coach Dennis Reilly said his team’s goal is to make it even further in the playoffs this time around.
“I’m optimistic, but always cautious because you never know about injuries, you never know about academics as well,” he said. “It’s a matter of how hard we work, how physical we can be, and how we can mitigate injuries as much as possible.”
Lebanon returns all of its starters from last season, including standouts such as senior attacker Abe Pearson, sophomore attacker Bently Lang, senior midfielder Benji Madory, and junior midfielder Jordan Findley. Senior defender Miles Saunders and junior midfielder Gavin Gilson also return.
Reilly also pointed out that his squad has some newcomers who have shown promise, such as sophomore defender Colby Lindquist and freshmen midfielders Carter Johnson and Jesse Madory.
Seniors Alex Eastman, Ben Jarvis, and Ben Direnzo also join the squad and bring some size.
The Raiders opened their season with a win at home on Thursday, 17-7 over Campbell. Next up for the Raiders is a matchup at Laconia on Friday.
Stevens
The Cardinals finished with a winless 0-14 record last season and missed out on the NHIAA Division III playoffs.
Despite a tough season last year in which the Cardinals did not score more than four goals in a game, they are back to work to turn things around in 2026.
Stevens opened its season on Monday at John Stark and fell 21-1. The Cardinals will search for their first win on Friday when they host Kennett.
Girls
Hanover
Coming off a season in which they finished 11-7 and fell to eventual NHIAA Division II champion Winnacunnet in the semifinals, the Bears return a young but hungry squad.
While Hanover might not have any seniors this season, they return several key players, including juniors Cassidy Loughman, Maeve Bradley, Joia Collins, and Casey Wilkinson. Sophomore Pauline Rudd and juniors Lily Tine and Sage Fargher also return.
Among the newcomers to the Bears are freshmen Clare Higgins, Rainey Fisher, Campbell McCorkle, Sally Gaughan, and Lexi Fox.
“We’re going to be athletic, gritty, and tough,” said Head Coach Sarah Martin. “I think the areas we’re really going to have to pay attention to are our composure and how we handle pressure, being a young team,” she added.
The Bears split their first two games to start the season, falling to Merrimack 11-8 at home on Tuesday and routing visiting Alvirne 21-1 on Wednesday. The Bears get back to work on Friday when they visit Keene-Monadnock.
“I think the sky is the limit with this group — they work hard, they have a lot of fun,” Martin said.
Hartford
The Hurricanes come off a 15-1 season in which their lone loss came at the hands of Green Mountain Valley in the VPA Division II state title game. Now, Hartford will turn the page, with a new head coach, Peter Vanderpot, who replaces Heather Hartford.
Vanderpot’s focus for his squad this season is getting better every day.
“We lost a lot of seniors (from) last year — it’ll be a challenge this year, but all for the better, and hopefully bring it all together as the year goes on and hopefully make another postseason run,” he said.
Returners from last season’s squad include seniors Nella Bowen, Hailey Vanasse, Zoe Zanleoni, Bradleigh Bushee, Sadie Mullen, and Tatum Flanagan. Juniors Grace Blanchard and Paisley Danaher, along with sophomore Adi Schultz, also come back.
The Canes also have a crop of players coming up from JV, such as senior Ella Prebish, and sophomores Rylee Hart and Vivian Tsouknakis. The squad also welcomes freshmen Bella Lombardi, Nora Comeau, Bella Liles, and August Fallon.
The Canes opened their season at home with a 15-10 win over Stowe on Monday. Hartford will visit Green Mountain Valley on April 29.
Lebanon
It’s the dawn of a new era for Raiders girls lacrosse as longtime Head Coach Sara Ecker will not be patrolling the sidelines this season; instead, it will be Mo Marquis, who played under Ecker, leading Lebanon.
Lebanon finished 9-6 last season and fell in the first round of the NHIAA Division III playoffs to Coe-Brown Northwood.
“We’ve got a ton of people that are coming back, we have several people that have never played before, so we’ve got a whole mix of different people,” Marquis said.
While Marquis is a new varsity head coach for Lebanon, she shares a lot of the expectations Ecker had — being on time and working hard, among other things.
The Raiders started the season strong, defeating Milford on Monday 7-4 at home, but did drop their second game at Coe-Brown Northwood 10-4 on Wednesday. The Raiders host Hopkinton on May 4.
“We’ve got a lot of great ball handling, a lot of great defensive work, we’ve got attackers that have accurate, fast shots, our goalies are looking prepared,” Marquis said.
Woodstock
The Wasps finished 10-8 last season, fell to Hartford in the VPA Division II semifinals, and return several key members of last year’s squad to their team.
Seniors Aleks Cirovic, Maeve Roylance, Jessica Baumann, and Sophia Rosenbach return for Woodstock. Alexis Audsley, a junior, and sophomore Betta Cirovic also come back to the Wasps.
The Wasps also have some younger athletes who are either joining the squad for the first time or stepping into larger roles, such as sophomores Alaythia Lockhart, Joey Palazzo, and Sarea Beardsley.
While Head Coach Amanda Hull said her squad might have surprised some teams last season, considering the players they had lost going into it. Now, though, having lost fewer players, the Wasps are continuing to build.
“It feels like we’re hitting the ground running, so I see a lot of potential,” she said.
Woodstock opened its season on Monday, falling to Burr & Burton at home 14-8. The Wasps return to play on Friday at Mt. Anthony.
