As expected, a busy weekend of holiday tournaments led to quite a few changes in this week's girls prep top 10 rankings.
In the Harrington Tournament, Nobles dominated nearly all weekend to cruise to some early-season hardware. Meanwhile, Williston Northampton turned out to be human after all, suffering its first loss in nearly two years en route to a third-place finish.
At the Patsy K. Odden, Loomis Chaffee ground out a massive upset win over Phillips Andover in the title game, while Thayer and Groton each fell in the championships of their tournaments over the weekend.
All of it led to a new top dog in the rankings, plus plenty of shuffling further down. Each of the next three teams behind No. 1 has a case to being ranked higher, while No. 6 could be in the top five, too. Fleshing out the back end of the rankings was a challenge once again as some teams could have either moved up or fallen more as well as others in the hunt.
If anything, the weekend's results prove that the parity around the NEPSAC this season is incredibly high.
Let's dive into the latest top 10.
1. Nobles (7-0-1)
Previous rank: 4
Head coach: Tom Resor
Next game: at Dexter Southfield, Jan. 3, 5 p.m.
Nobles is the hottest team in girls prep right now. They've rattled off seven straight wins, including a 4-0-0 sweep of the Harrington Tournament en route to the title. The Bulldogs' most impressive results came in a physical, grind-it-out win over Westminster, 3-2, on Friday before their 4-0 shutout of St. Paul's in the championship. Tom Resor's squad boasts the best defense group in the NEPSAC right now, headlined by Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.) and Olivia Maffeo (Canton, Mass.). The forward group has had contributions throughout, but Gretta Hulbig (Foxborough, Mass.) had a dominant showing. She had a hat trick against Lawrence on Friday before an assist against St. Mark's on Saturday and the eventual game-winner against SPS. When Nobles' forecheck is clicking, it's hard to imagine any breakout solving it. They'll look to keep rolling against Dexter coming out of the holiday break.
CHAMPS: 5 takeaways from Nobles' Harrington win over St. Paul's
2. Williston Northampton (5-1-1)
Previous rank: 1
Head coach: Christa Talbot Syfu
Next game: vs. Groton, Jan. 2, 4 p.m.
A loss and a tie in consecutive days is certainly something we're not used to seeing for Williston. The loss to St. Paul's was arguably the game of the weekend, and it could have gone either way. Christa Talbot Syfu's group was the better team for most of the game in the tie with Westminster. A few clutch plays and red-hot goalies went against them this weekend. Williston's top line — Monique Lyons (Bedford, Mass.), Nora Curtis and Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.) — felt unstoppable, especially on the power play. Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.) looked great on the blue line, both offensively and defensively. Caroline Aufiero (Belmont, Mass.) didn't suit up Sunday, so her status is something to keep an eye on after the break. As I wrote in my tournament takeaways, the Wildcats will be fine. They have another tough matchup with Groton on tap to start the new year.
3. Phillips Andover (3-1-1)
Previous rank: 2
Head coach: Martha Fenton
Next game:Â vs. Choate, Jan. 6, 4 p.m.
Andover had one of the toughest schedules at the Patsy K. Odden tournament over the weekend. They had a big, high-flying win over Tabor, 6-3, before rolling past Taft, 2-0. After a tie and shootout win over Kent, Martha Fenton's team couldn't solve Loomis Chaffee in a tight championship contest. The offensive showing against a stingy team like Tabor was especially encouraging for the Big Blue. Another big positive was a pair of underclassmen, Kimberly Duplessis (Framingham, Mass.) and Charlotte Greer, coming through with their first career goals. Andover looks to get back on track against Choate coming out of the break.
4. Tabor (6-1-1)
Previous rank: 3
Head coach: Eric Long
Next game: vs. Williston, Jan. 6, 4:30 p.m.
Like Andover, Tabor also found itself in a tough bracket for the PKO tournament, starting with the high-scoring loss to Andover before a tie and shootout win against Kent. Eric Long's team locked in on Saturday with a pair of 2-0 shutouts, beating Taft before Choate to finish third in the tournament. The six goals allowed to Andover were by far the most the Seawolves have allowed in a game this season. But on balance, they continue to be terrific defensively, giving up 0.83 goals per game outside of that contest. Things certainly don't get any easier with Williston on deck after the holidays.
5. St. Paul’s (6-3-0)
Previous rank: 6
Head coach: Kelli Mackey
Next game: vs. Deerfield, Jan. 6, 6 p.m.
St. Paul's had a huge showing at the Harrington Tournament this weekend, highlighted by some gutsy 3-1 wins over Williston and BB&N. Kelli Mackey's second line came through quite a bit on Saturday. First, it was Tess Mulkerron (Concord, N.H.) scoring the game-winner against Williston before Maude Niemann (Weston, Conn.) scored on a nice shot off the bar and in against BB&N. Headliner Cami Bell (Barre, Vt.) still found ways to be effective, even if she wasn't filling up the scoresheet. She had a dominant possession shift against BB&N, doing it all in the offensive zone in the lead-up to Charlie Voge's redirect goal off a Georgia Bussey shot. Ally Martiniello (Salem, NH) was fantastic in net all weekend, too. Nobles overwhelmed them with a dominant forecheck on Sunday, but even then, Martiniello kept them in it until the end. They open with Deerfield out of the break.
TAKEAWAYS: 10 observations from the Harrington Tournament
6. Kent (4-0-2)
Previous rank: 5
Head coach: Sam Ftorek
Next game:Â at Nobles, Jan. 6, 4:15 p.m.
Kent faired well, overall, in a couple of huge matchups at the Odden tournament. Sam Ftorek's group rolled past Taft with a 3-0 win on Friday morning before taking Tabor to a shootout later that day. The Lions had another strong tie on Saturday, taking Andover to a shootout. Megan Duplantie and Renee Bishop in particular flashed some nice skill on their shootout goals against Andover. Duplantie had a lightning-quick release to score five-hole. They have another massive test on tap with Nobles to come out of the break.
7. Loomis Chaffee (5-3-0)
Previous rank: NR
Head coach: Liz Leyden
Next game: vs. Milton, Jan. 5, 7 p.m.
The biggest showing in any tournament this weekend likely belongs to Loomis. Liz Leyden's team rolled to a 4-0-0 finish at the PKO tournament as they took home the title in a classic with Andover. Grace Morin took over for the Pelicans in this tournament. Not only did she come through with the game-winner in the third against Andover, but it capped off six points (3g, 3a) in four games for her on the weekend. Leila Fournier (West Kingston, R.I.) came through all weekend, earning the shutout against Andover and giving up just two goals across all four games. Loomis did it without Chloe Obser in the lineup on Sunday, too. They'll aim for a fifth straight win when they host Milton after the holidays.
8. Groton (5-2-2)
Previous rank: 9
Head coach: Tim LeRoy
Next game: at Williston, Jan. 2, 4 p.m.
Groton jumps up a spot this week after a 2-1-1 weekend at the Watkins tournament, where they fell to Millbrook, 4-1, in the championship. The Zebras dominated Proctor, 7-1, on Thursday. They picked up a tidy 3-0 shutout over a tough New Hampton team ahead of a tie and shootout win over Berkshire on Friday. Keira Ley (Wayland, Mass.), Maddie Cronan (Ashland, Mass.) and Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.) continued their strong run of form recently. Scalese scored a pair against Proctor and Cronan scored twice against New Hampton. They have a huge test against a hungry Williston team to kick off 2024.
HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS:Â Click or tap here to see what happened in every girls prep holiday tournament
9. Thayer (6-2-1)
Previous rank: 7
Head coach: Brandy Fisher-Bailey
Next game: at Austin Prep, Jan. 5, 3:30 p.m.
Thayer had an up-and-down weekend at the Dexter tournament, where they were the presumed favorites in my eyes, falling to Hill in the title game. It capped off a 2-2-0 weekend for the Tigers, who also fell to Kimball Union, 2-1, on Friday. Saturday saw Brandy Fisher-Bailey's group respond well with a pair of 3-1 wins, first over Nichols before knocking off Brooks. Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.) continued to roll right along this season. Her weekend included a goal against KUA on Friday. Thayer has a chance to get back in the win column against AP to open 2024 before their schedule toughens up.
10. Westminster (5-2-1)
Previous rank: NR
Head coach: Sara Uglade
Next game: at Taft, Jan. 6, 5 p.m.
Westminster almost broke into the top 10 last week, and after liking what I saw from the Martlets at the Harrington, they enter this week's rankings. Westminster's best games of the weekend weren't even wins. They gave Nobles a big scare in a last-second loss on Friday, refusing to go away in a tough, physical game. They held their own in a tie with Williston, too, as goalie Julia Matyas was fantastic. She was one of their best players all weekend. Their top line of freshman Bella Zapata, senior Olivia Gordon (Avon, Conn.) and senior Olivia Emerson (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) looks like it can match up with anyone else's top trio. I was especially impressed with Zapata, who scored against Lawrence and Williston. She and Gordon have strong chemistry, and she'll only get better as she continues to grow and add strength.
Dropped out: BB&N (4-3-1; 8), New Hampton (5-2-2; 10)
In the hunt:Â New Hampton, BB&N, Deerfield, Taft
