Of the seven girls lacrosse teams from The Salem News area that qualified for the MIAA playoffs, three reside in Division 4 — and all are ranked among the top 12 teams in the draw.
As a result, Ipswich, Hamilton-Wenham and Swampscott all earned the right to host first round playoff games this weekend.
Elsewhere, Peabody and Beverly battled for the Northeastern Conference title all season and wound up being seeded back-to-back in Division 1, while Masconomet earned a Division 2 postseason bid and fellow NEC rival Danvers did the same in Division 3.
Ipswich had the best season of any local entry thanks to its 15-1 regular season mark and Cape Ann League Baker Division championship. As the No. 4 seed, the Tigers will begin their postseason journey by taking on the winner of a preliminary round bout between 29th ranked Advanced Math & Science (14-4) and Old Colony (9-9) which at No. 36 is the last team to have qualified.
The Tigers have a lot of offensive firepower behind Allie Wile (43 goals), Halle Greenleaf (31 goals, 35 assists), Lyla Greenleaf (28 goals, 24 assists) and Estelle Gromko (29 goals, 12 assists) leading the way. Halle Greenleaf and Lucy Winthrop (nearly 50 caused turnovers) also excel on the draw, while goaltender Emma Paquette (67 saves) has stopped more than half of the shots she’s faced.
Hamilton-Wenham is the No. 9 seed and will travel to the turf in Gloucester Sunday to meet No. 24 seed South Hadley (7-11) in a first round matchup at Newell Stadium (5:15 p.m.).
Heading into the postseason with a 10-6 record, the Generals have gotten 77 goals from Evie Bernard and another 27 from Leila Leland. Ava Vautour (116) is the last line of defense in net.
After a strong 15-3 regular season, Swampscott earned the No. 12 seed in Division 4 and play host to 21st seeded Oakmont Regional (7-11) at Blocksidge Field Monday under the lights (7 p.m.).
Captain Coco Clopton has over 50 goals for the Big Blue to power the offense, getting plenty of help from the likes of Avery Laundry, Cecelia Tripp and Sophia Ciccioti. Goaltender Lilah Caplan (107 saves) has one of the region’s best save percentages as well at 56 percent.
In Division 1, Beverly slots in as the No. 19 seed after a fine 15-4 regular season. The Orange-and-Black hit the road for their first round contest Saturday at No. 14 Lexington (12-8) starting at 2 p.m.
With three scorers well over 200 points, including NEC Player of the Year Lily Shea (69 goals, 44 assists), Joselyn Silva (56 goals, 22 assists) and Lauren Caley (40 goals, 10 assists), the Panthers are capable of scoring in bunches. Morgan Linskey is one of a number of excellent defenders protecting the cage in front of goaltender Madeline Reynolds (151 saves, 56% save pct.).
Peabody, which won the NEC crown, is seeded 20th. The Tanners (15-3) will also be wearing their road uniforms in the Round of 32 as they travel to meet No. 13 seed Belmont (14-6) Thursday.
The program’s all-time leading scorer, Brooke Lomasney (81 goals, 56 assists this season), heads up the offense that also gets a lot of production from Ally Bettencourt (54 goals, 35 assists) and Madi Barrett (52 goals, 17 assists). Standout netminder Caitlin Snow has turned aside 138 shots and has stopped 54 percent of the shots that have come her way.
Masconomet (8-12) is the 28th seed in Division 2 and gets a home game to begin the postseason, taking on No. 37 Shepherd Hill Regional (9-9) in a preliminary round contest Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Hannah Coleman has scored 67 times to go with a dozen assists; Caitlin Driscoll adds 40 goals plus 22 assists to the offense; and goalie Mackenzie Cronin has made 171 saves.
Another prelim will take place locally at Dr. Deering Stadium Friday (3:30 p.m.) as host Danvers (5-13), the 32nd seed in Division 3, hosts No. 33 South Shore Voke (16-2). Jordan Turcotte and Savannah Botthof have each passed the 40-goal mark this season for DHS, with goaltender Megan McGinnity a rock in net.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN