Just four teams remain in the girls Small School field. The quarterfinals went far from chalk. In fact, we were pretty close to seeing upsets across the board. No. 1 Groton needed overtime to knock off No. 8 Frederick Gunn, 2-1, and No. 3 Cushing also needed overtime against No. 6 Portsmouth Abbey in a...
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Just four teams remain in the girls Small School field.
The quarterfinals went far from chalk. In fact, we were pretty close to seeing upsets across the board.
No. 1 Groton needed overtime to knock off No. 8 Frederick Gunn, 2-1, and No. 3 Cushing also needed overtime against No. 6 Portsmouth Abbey in a 2-1 win. Both winners almost got "goalied."
Meanwhile, in the actual upsets, No. 7 New Hampton's search for a fourth-straight title continued in a 3-1 upset over No. 2 Rivers. Fifth-seeded St. Mark's young guns led the charge in a 5-0 shutout over No. 4 Governor's.
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I was on the wrong side of both upsets in my Small School predictions, meaning I went 2-for-4. Yuck. Overall, I was 7-for-12, including the Elite 8 and the Large School. That's simply not good enough, which is why I'm back for more.
Unfortunately for me, the two Small School matchups were perhaps the toughest to pick across all six of Saturday's semifinal tilts. I went back and forth quite a bit.
Let's dive in.
No. 1 Groton vs. No. 5 St. Mark's
These two ISL rivals met a week ago, settling for a 4-4 tie.
Ava Barbour had a goal and an assist for Nobles in the draw, while Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.) had two assists. Caroline Matusovich (New Gloucester, Maine), Cindy Li and Jaelyn Trudell (Andover, Mass.) each scored, too, and Nora Wilson (Weybridge, Vt.) made 18 saves.
For the Lions, Alex Lee (Pomfret, Conn.), Maribeth Fitzgerald (Boylston, Mass.), Sammi Ruzzo (North Smithfield, R.I.) and Abbey Deroeve (Charlestown, Mass.) each scored. Allie Sauls had two assists.
Sauls kept things rolling against Gov's, alongside fellow youngster Jocelyn Gray (Hanover, Mass.), as each had four points. Sauls had three assists, and Gray had a hat trick. Kayleigh Koen (Canton, Mass.) got on the board, too. Erin Drew (Methuen, Mass.) had a 23-save shutout against Gov's. She did not start the regular season finale against Groton, as she and Melanie Allen (Norwood, Mass.) split the net this season. I'll be curious to see if St. Mark's sticks to the rotation.
Scalese, meanwhile, helped the Zebras come back against Gunn. She scored on the power play to tie it, while fellow seniors Ella Nannene (Acton, Mass.) and Oona Kathan (Arlington, Mass.) combined on the overtime-winner, with Kathan cleaning up Nannene's rebound off the rush. Wilson made 17 saves. Groton peppered Moira Landsverk, too, and she nearly held them off with 42 saves.
St. Mark's jumped on Gov's early with a power-play goal in the first. They added another on the advantage in the second, and they also had success in transition. Groton, meanwhile, gave up a goal on the opening shift against Gunn, but the Zebras' penalty kill was strong all game, including late in regulation.
The Zebras will need to avoid another early lapse against a potent offense. If the penalty kill can step up again, they could be in luck. Both rosters have a blend of youth and experience, and both have plenty of holdovers from past playoff runs. Groton reached the Small School final in 2023 and 2024, and St. Mark's made a run last season. It'll be up to Groton's experienced blue-liners to keep the Lions' exciting underclassmen at bay.
Prediction:Â Groton wins, 3-2
No. 3 Cushing vs. No. 7 New Hampton
I don't expect there to be any shortage of offense in this one, as New Hampton and Cushing entered the tournament with the most and second-most total goals, respectively.
Neither offense was particularly explosive in the quarterfinals, though.
New Hampton landed 16 shots on Rivers' Ellie Beigel (Natick, Mass.), beating her twice before adding an empty-netter. Emma MacPherson (Sandwich, Mass.) continued her breakout season with two goals and an assist on Lily Thomas' opening goal. Elizabeth Vincent wasn't overly tested either, making 17 saves, although she came up with some big stops down the stretch. Addy Peel (Scarborough, Maine) made key plays in the neutral zone and on the penalty kill, while Roxie Merrick was also stout defensively.
Cushing, meanwhile, ran into a red-hot Marguerite Cordahi, only breaking through twice despite landing 45 shots. It certainly wasn't for a lack of quality chances, whether it was Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.), Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.) or others. Harb broke through with a beauty off a feed from Violet Dittman in the third. Emersyn Fisher-Bailey (Duxbury, Mass.) was the OT hero with a seeing-eye wrister. Julia Lambert (Wilmington, Mass.) made her presence felt in her return to the lineup, too, with a big play before the game-winner. Sadie Bellissimo wasn't tested much, but made the saves she needed to make.
Cushing got contributions throughout the lineup in the win over the Huskies on Feb. 4. Freitas had two goals, while Stella Hunter (Auburndale, Mass.) and Harb each had a goal and an assist. Lyla Rahn (Stratham, N.H.) and Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.) each had two assists. Kelsey Baker (Concord, Mass.) and Liv Murray each scored for New Hampton. Vincent made 29 saves.
Both offenses are deep. Both goalies are strong. This game likely comes down to who can get the extra edge defensively. Both blue lines are young, too. New Hampton was able to stifle a strong Rivers offense in the quarterfinals, but Cushing completely dominated possession against Portsmouth Abbey. It's close, but after the quarterfinals, it's hard not to buy in on whatever good juju New Hampton has going on in the postseason the last few years.
Prediction:Â New Hampton wins, 4-3
WATCH: Reacting to the NEPSAC girls quarterfinals
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