A new No. 1: South Shore high school boys lacrosse top 10 rankings

This was a rare year for high school boys lacrosse on the South Shore.

Despite several close calls, no area teams won state titles this spring. Marshfield dropped a triple-overtime heartwrencher in the Div. 2 finals. Scituate's emotional season ended in the Div. 3 state finals. BC High, Hingham and Duxbury all lost in the state semifinals. Norwell's bid at a three-peat also came to an end in the semifinals.

While there were no state champions in the area, there was still a ton of talent.

Final record and last week's ranking in parenthesis.

WHERE WE STARTED: Contenders in every division: South Shore high schools boys lacrosse rankings

On the bubble: South Shore Tech (17-2), Pembroke (9-11), Canton (12-7), Plymouth South (11-9)

10. Abington (13-7, 8)

Seniors Hunter Grafton and Jonathan Halpin graduate as two of the best players in program history. Grafton finished his career with 420 points and Halpin had 267 points. The Green Wave defeated Monomoy in the state tournament before falling to Pentucket in the Div. 4 Round of 16.

9. Bridgewater-Raynham (13-7, 9)

The always-consistent Trojans had another solid campaign and defeated No. 20 Marblehead in the Div. 2 Round of 32. Junior Jayson Kelleher scored the overtime winner in that one and finished with 38 goals this spring. Seniors Brendan Rosher and Anthony Mussari will be tough to replace. Sophomore Nikos Triantafillou and Kelleher will give B-R a balanced attack next spring.

8. Milton (13-7, NR)

It was probably an oversight to leave the Wildcats off the last version of this poll. After starting 1-3, Milton found its form and rattled off a 10-game winning streak. The Wildcats posted their most wins in a season since 2005. Milton defeated North Attleboro in the Div. 2 Round of 32 before losing to top-seeded Duxbury. Senior captains Luke Hartford and Luke Haley led the way for the Wildcats. Freshman goaltender Ben Midura emerged this spring by stopping 64 percent of shots he faced.

7. Cohasset (12-10, 7)

The defending Div. 4 state champions fell to Swampscott in the Div. 4 quarterfinals. With Sandwich joining the league and the rise of Abington and Rockland, the South Shore League is one of the deepest public school leagues in the state. Defenders Declan Lee and Ben Joyce leave behind big shoes to fill, but Gus Greene and Shane Mulcahy will give the Skippers one of the deepest attacks around next spring.

More: Cohasset senior returns to the field after near leg amputation

6. Norwell (15-7, 6)

Norwell's bid for a three-peat (the first two titles coming in Div. 3) fell just short, as the Clippers bowed out against new South Shore League foe Sandwich in the Div. 4 semifinals. Will Morse and Charlie Booras led the way for a veteran defensive group that was the heart and soul of the team.

More: Seniors propelled Norwell High boys lacrosse into new stratosphere

5. Scituate (19-6, 5)

How could you not root for the Sailors this spring? Scituate dealt with the death of two assistant coaches - Harold Gerbis and William Robinson . Willy Robinson, William's son, scored the overtime goal in 13-12 win over Falmouth in the Div. 3 semifinals less than a week after his father's passing. The Sailors ultimately lost to a loaded Medfield team in the Div. 3 final. "This team could’ve gone either way. You never really prepare yourself for the stuff that happened this year," Scituate coach Mark Puzzangara said.

More: 'A season I'll never forget': Scituate boys lacrosse's emotional run ends in Div. 3 final

4. BC High (14-8, 3)

After graduating a very impactful senior class in 2023, the Eagles were in a bit of rebuild mode in 2024. BC High dealt with a 1-5 stretch, but still found a way to rally and reach the Div. 1 state semifinals. For the fourth consecutive year, the Eagles' season ended with a loss to St. John's Prep; the previous three playoff matchups all had come in state championship games.

3. Hingham (18-5, 2)

Of Hingham's four in-state losses, two came against state champions (Div. 1's St. John's Prep and Div. 2's Longmeadow). The other two were against Needham (Div. 1 runner-up) and Duxbury (Div. 2 semifinalist). Heading into the state semifinal loss, the Harbormen had out-scored tourney foes 41-10.

2. Duxbury (21-2, 1)

Once again, Duxbury's season ended in heartbreak. The Dragons scored just after the buzzer in a 10-9 loss to Marshfield in the Div. 2 semifinals. Duxbury went 21-0 went not playing Marshfield, highlighted by an OT win over Hingham in the regular season (Colin Hulett scored the winner) and a triumph over Reading in the quarterfinals. Reading defeated Duxbury in the 2023 state final. Duxbury also scored big wins over Xaverian (Div. 1 quarterfinalist), Acton-Boxboro (Div. 1 semifinalist), Lincoln-Sudbury (No. 2 seed in Div. 1), Scituate (Div. 3 finalist) and Medfield (Div. 3 champion).

More: 'Great rivalry': It's always fun when two of the South Shore's top lacrosse powers collide

1. Marshfield (19-4, 4)

The Rams had a ton of potential coming into this season, but I did not expect them to end up as the area's top-ranked team. But Marshfield is a no-doubter for the No. 1 spot. The Rams were the only team to defeat Duxbury, and they did it twice, including in the state semifinals. Marshfield took Longmeadow to triple-OT in the state semifinal after the Lancers had run through all opponents in the state tournament, including a 12-5 win over Hingham in the state semifinals. Sophomore Sam O'Brien is one of the best faceoff specialists in the area, so the Patriot League should be really fun again next spring.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: A new No. 1: South Shore high school boys lacrosse top 10 rankings