Mass. Girls Division I Poll
Rank | Team | PR* | W | L | T |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Austin Prep | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
2 | Arlington Catholic | 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
3 | Billerica | 3 | 13 | 2 | 2 |
4 | Needham | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 |
5 | Woburn | 6 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
6 | Duxbury | 4 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
7 | Hingham | 7 | 12 | 4 | 1 |
8 | Haverhill/North Andover | 8 | 10 | 2 | 5 |
9 | Beverly/Danvers | 9 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
10 | Reading | NR | 10 | 5 | 1 |
The question arises. If the #1 team loses and the #2 team wins, does the #2 team automatically take over the top spot? Even if said #2 team lost earlier this season against the #1 team?
That’s the dilemma today after top-ranked Arlington Catholic was upset Saturday by St. Mary’s Lynn, 1-0, while #2 Austin Prep blanked Archbishop Williams, 4-0. Last week, AC beat Austin, 2-0, in their first head-to-head meeting.
Since this is a weekly poll, we will install Austin Prep (12-1-1) as the #1 team in the latest HNIB News Mass. Girls D1 Top 10 poll. Arlington Catholic (13-1-1) will get the #2 spot, although the teams should probably be considered 1A and 1B.
Austin will host Duxbury on Tuesday, a Dragons team that will be smarting after two straight losses, and then Westwood on Saturday.
Arlington Catholic is off all week and will look to get it going Saturday against a solid Hingham team.
Billerica (13-2-2) stays firm at #3 after the Indians posted league wins over Andover (2-0) and Chelmsford (4-2) this week. Looking ahead, coach Tina Carrabba’s club will host Acton-Boxboro (Wednesday) and Beverly/Danvers (Saturday).
Needham (13-1-2) continues to be impressive, gaining wins over Weymouth (10-2) and Braintree (4-0) to jump up t0 #4. The Rockets get Dedham (Wednesday) and Newton North (Saturday).
#5 Woburn (14-3-0) is also up a spot after beating Belmont (6-1) and Arlington (3-1). The Tanners, whose 14 wins are the most in D1 at this point, have two big games this week – Reading (Wednesday) and Lexington (Saturday).
Losses to Falmouth and Barnstable drop Duxbury (9-3-2) down to #6, and things won’t get any easier Tuesday when the Dragon take on Austin Prep. Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake is Saturday’s opponent.
#7 Hingham (12-4-1) suffered a tough loss to Canton, but rebounded Saturday with a 5-3 win over Barnstable. The Lady Harbormen face a good Plymouth team Wednesday before the daunting task of taking on Arlington Catholic Saturday.
Haverhill/Pentucket/North Andover (10-2-5) remains at #8. HPNA also suffered a hiccup, falling to Boston Latin, but regrouped and whitewashed Wayland/Weston (6-0). They have Cambridge (Wednesday) and Lincoln-Sudbury (Saturday).
#9 Beverly/Danvers (12-5-0) fell 6-1 to Arlington Catholic and won the Northeastern Hockey League title Saturday with a 4-2 verdict of Marblehead. Before playing Billerica, Winthrop/Lynn will be Wednesday’s foe.
And look who is back in the poll? Defending state champ Reading (10-5-1). The Rockets qualified for post-season play with an impressive 4-0 win over Winchester Saturday, coming on the heels of a scoreless tie with Arlington. They look ahead to Woburn Wednesday and then get Belmont on Saturday.
Lurking on the outside are Lexington (12-4-0), Arlington (9-4-1), Acton-Boxboro (9-4-2) and Westford Academy (9-3-4).