It's time for some more predictions.
The NEPSAC girls Large School Tournament continues Saturday with the semifinals. Each of the higher seeds won in Wednesday's quarterfinals.
You had No. 3 Dexter Southfield shutting out No. 6 Phillips Exeter, 4-0, while No. 4 BB&N outlasted a shorthanded No. 5 Thayer, 3-2. No. 1 Choate and No. 2 Westminster were watching everything play out like the rest of us.
For those of you keeping score at home, I was 2-for-2 in my last round of predictions, and I'm currently 7-for-8 across all three NEPSAC girls tournaments. But that's enough of my victory lap.
Let's dive in.
No. 1 Choate vs. No. 4 BB&N
The Wild Boars enter the Large School Tournament as potentially the best team not in the Elite 8. They finished sixth in the RPI but ninth in the JSPR algorithm that determines the seeding.
Choate is on a roll coming into the playoffs. They're 8-2-0 in their last 10 with wins in five straight. Laura DiCarlo's team has been a model of consistency this season, never losing twice in a row.
GIRLS BRACKETS: Elite 8 Tournament | Large School Tournament | Small School Tournament
Their big guns have been the go-to producers all season with a dynamic duo of seniors, Norah Morris (13 goals, 26 points) and Caroline Holm (Cheshire, Conn.; 10 goals, 25 points), leading the charge. Sophomore Annie Forker (Stratford, Conn.) has taken a massive step this season, too.
Meanwhile, the Knights have been battle-tested and resilient this whole season, bouncing back from a rough start without Hannah Weyerhaeuser (Cambridge, Mass.). They've had success through one of the most difficult schedules of any team in the field, and they also boast the best record against opponents in the bracket (4-0-0 after beating Thayer in the quarterfinals).
Choate's been shut out in four of its six losses this season, too. So, there's a clear defensive blueprint for Ed Bourget's group to follow.
It's coming together at the right time for the Knights, who are 9-3-1 over the last month or so. That's especially true for the top of their lineup, where Weyerhaeuser has made a huge impact since returning. She scored twice in the quarterfinals against Thayer.
Goaltending seems like a wash with BB&N's Alexsa Caron (Dracut, Mass.) and Choate's Elsa Haakonsen (Trumbull, Conn.) each having terrific seasons. Weyerhaeuser is a true X-factor for the Knights as well, adding a dynamic, explosive threat to their forward group. On the flip-side, Choate is deeper from a production standpoint and has the better offense so far this season. They're averaging 2.6 goals per game to BB&N's 1.9 entering the tournament.
I went back-and-forth on this pick several times, and I'm still not sure if I'm making the right call. But I'm going with my gut...
 Prediction: BB&N wins, 3-2.
MORE PREDICTIONS: Elite 8 Tournament | Small School Tournament
No. 2 Westminster vs. No. 3 Dexter Southfield
This is another matchup I had a tough time deciding on.
Westminster was right there in the Elite 8 picture through the first half of the season, but hit a rough patch in the dog days of the second half that included a 1-4-1 run. Since then, the Martlets are 3-1-1 over the last few weeks.
Olivia Gordon (Avon, Conn.), Adrienne Hall (Simsbury, Conn.) and Bella Zapata have led the charge offensively all season. Despite her scoring pace slowing down in the second half, Zapata has made a huge first impression as a freshman. She, Gordon and Hall will need to be at their best. Westminster will also need Talia Ondy (Newtown, Conn.) to be a difference-maker further down the lineup. When she's on her game, she gives them an edge in a lot of matchups on the second line
Sara Ugalde also has a very experienced group with 12 upperclassmen (six seniors and six juniors) and only four sophomores and four freshmen.
Looking at Dexter, they've been the reverse of Westminster (like they were against Exeter, too) in a few ways.
They struggled early on in the season, but they've gone 11-3-1 since starting the year 3-6-0. Maggie Taverna's group has been one of the best in the region of late, sitting 8-1-1 in their last 10, fresh off their sound win over Exeter in the quarterfinals. The offense has been humming, boasting a plus-36 differential and getting contributions throughout the lineup.
Dexter is also very young with seven sophomores, four freshmen, two eighth-graders and one seventh-grader on a roster that has just one senior and five juniors. That didn't matter against Exeter, though. Sophomore Sawyer Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) had a pair, while fellow sophomore and leading-scorer Evelyn Doyle (Needham, Mass) also scored. Junior BC commit Maddie Murphy (Dorchester, Mass.) scored and had her fingerprints all over the win on the blue line, too. Dexter proved it can close out games, scoring three times in the final 10 minutes to put it away.
PREVIEW: Breaking down every team in the tournament
Both teams can rely on their goaltending, too. Westminster senior goalie Julia Matyas has been terrific. She's seen the most shots (558) of any goalie in the field, putting up a .95 save percentage. Meanwhile, Dexter freshman Annabelle Aitken (Winchester, Mass.) is fresh off a shutout against Exeter.
I know we all like to focus on experience at this time of year, but I think I've got to stick with the hot hand here.
Prediction:Â Dexter wins, 2-1.
Editor's note: In a previous version of this story, we mistakenly identified Addie Sutherland as having a shutout in the quarterfinals for Dexter Southfield. It was Annabelle Aitken.
