Rhode Island

Who are the best girls lax teams in Rhode Island? Here’s how we ranked the four divisions

Published

1 year ago

April 14, 2025

Who are the best girls lax teams in Rhode Island? Here’s how we ranked the four divisions

As I was enjoying Southern hospitality and being a patron at that little course in Georgia, you know what message was sent to me via text, email and direct message the most?

What happened to the win-loss standings on the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s website?

Listen, the only way the RIIL’s website would win a beauty contest would be in a game of Monopoly. But what it lacked in aesthetics, it made up for in functionality. Everything was a click away and wasn’t difficult to find.

The RPI changed that.

With the RIIL using RPI instead of wins and losses to determine playoff seeding – a decision that remains No. 1 on the most overthought and unnecessary things in the history of RI high school sports, as seen by this little lawsuit – it made the tradition win-loss standings page completely irrelevant.

The RIIL did everyone a favor in the fall and kept the page active on its website. While there was an RPI tab, the large majority of people used traditional standings to figure out how things worked. It was the same story in the winter season.

Things have since changed. The RIIL’s traditional win-loss standings are no longer being updated by their website provider, which has caused panic by those looking to find out how teams are doing – present company included.

If you are one of the panicked, I have a solution.

My dumb brain remembered I was using the RPI Standings at the end of basketball season. While it might seem scary and confusion, trust me – it’s not.

So how do you navigate the RIIL’s standing pages now?

Go to the website. Pick you sport, then click the giant blue “standings” button or the RPI Standings in the left tab. That’s the easy part.

When you see the standings, it provides information that’s unnecessary. There’s no explanation for what any of the letters or numbers mean, so here’s my advice – don’t worry about it.

The columns on the right tell you who teams have won and lost against and what teams are coming up on the schedule, but it’s presented in a way that makes me want to throw my laptop across a room. Ignore this stuff too.

There is a simple solution to all of this. When you’re on the RPI Standings page, just click the name of the team whose information you’re after. Once you do, it brings up everything you need to know – when and where it was played, what the score was, and whether or not it’s considered a league game or non-league, plus the future schedule.

Not every game is updated, but that’s on coaches not doing their jobs in a timely fashion. You can cross reference missing games on MaxPreps, provided you love pop-up ads and videos that play at an absurd volume.

Do I like this change? I’m a Rhode Islander, so of course not. Is this change good? No, but only because RPI is inherently stupid and unnecessary for a state this small.

Is the website functional and the information easy to find? Yes.

And that’s what matters, at least for this column.

Now let’s get on to the rankings.

RIIL DIVISION I GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS

1. Moses Brown (1-0)

It can be hard to get ranked first with only one game in two weeks, but when that game comes against a top five team and you win by two touchdowns it makes things easier. The Quakers beat Prout on April 9, but won’t play another RIIL team until April 21 when it hosts Portsmouth. This week MB will stay sharp with a non-league game against St. George’s Monday and a league game against out-of-state Bishop Feehan on Thursday.

2. East Greenwich (3-0)

The Avengers have come into the 2025 season ready to go and haven’t slowed down a step. Two dominant wins over North Kingstown and Chariho got Week 1 going and last week, EG took care of a tough Portsmouth team. If the Avengers have the same kind of success at Prout on Tuesday, it might be time to sound the alarm on this team’s chances of reaching the state final.

3. La Salle (5-0)

Five games into the season and the Rams have won in every possible way – blowouts, close and not-so close. La Salle has the potential to be a contender and just needs the consistency that comes with playing more games. This week the Rams only have one, hosting Barrington on Tuesday night.

4. Portsmouth (2-2)

The Patriots have to feel pretty good about their start so far. They could have easily beaten La Salle in the first week and while getting beat 13-6 by East Greenwich last week didn’t feel good, its only going to hep this young Portsmouth roster in the long run. We’ll see how the Patriots react to the L on Tuesday when they host North Kingstown, followed by a road game at Chariho Saturday morning.

ON THE BUBBLE: Prout (2-1)

RIIL DIVISION II GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS

1. Cumberland (4-1)

The Clippers have wasted little time in establishing their presence as a D-II favorite. Their four wins have all been impressive, either in score or opponent, and the one loss was a battle against a D-I Portsmouth team that could play for a state title. Cumberland is legit and while it won’t play during vacation, it will be back to proving it can win a championship when it gets back on the field on April 21.

2. Westerly (2-2)

Expectations were high coming into the season and right now the Bulldogs are living up to them. Westerly doubled up South Kingstown in its opener and bounced back from two losses – one to D-I Prout, the other to Stonington (Conn.) – with a nice win over D-I Chariho. The Bulldogs have some tests against out-of-state Harrison on Monday and at Ledyard Thursday as it gets ready to boost its resume in D-II.

3. Lincoln School (1-0)

There’s a very good chance the Lynx end up winning it all, but with one only game played this season it’s hard to rank them higher than this. Lincoln School won comfortably against Lincoln School last week and will have a tough challenge against D-I North Kingstown on Thursday. After that the schedule is going to get busy, but we should have a ready on this team by the end o the month.

4. Burrillville (3-0)

Are the Broncos going to be the underrated team in D-II this spring? With wins in its first three games, Burrillville should probably be ranked higher, but it’s tough to gauge how good its opponents were at this point of the year. Wins are wins, and if the Broncos can have two more good showings this week – at Mt. Hope Monday and hosting D-I Prout on Thursday – they might start to gain more attention.

ON THE BUBBLE: South Kingstown (2-3)

RIIL DIVISION III GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS

1. East Providence (2-0)

It’s been a very interesting start to the season for the Townies, who pulled off a one-goal win over Smithfield to start the season before beating up on North Smithfield last week. EP won’t have to travel much this week, hosting neighboring Providence Country Day on Monday before traveling to city rival Bay View on Tuesday.

2. Smithfield (1-1)

Weather postponements haven’t allowed teams to build resumes, so the Sentinels are here almost by default. Smithfield has some talented players and after opening with a win over Pilgrim, the one-goal loss to EP that followed will look better as the season goes on. The Sentinels didn’t play last week because of weather, but have two games this week with a noon start at home against D-IV Scituate Wednesday and a matinee on the road against Toll Gate Thursday.

3. Ponaganset (2-1)

The first week of the season led to two tough games and a .500 record, but last week’s commanding win over Bay View got the Chieftains back to where it wants to be. Ponaganset has a tough road game this week at Mt. Hope, but needs to continue to build off its last win. The schedule gets tougher after break and if this team wants to win a title, it needs to have some momentum once the weather gets warm.

4. Cranston East (3-3)

Six games in and nobody’s been through more battles than the Thunderbolts, who have three one-goal games under their belt already this spring. Going 2-1 in those types of games this time of the season is laying a foundation that could make Cranston East tough later in the season. They’ll look for a second win over Toll Gate this spring when the teams meet in Warwick on Tuesday.

ON THE BUBBLE: Toll Gate

RIIL DIVISION IV GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS

1. Classical (5-1)

The preseason favorite have left little doubt about their standing and while it hasn’t been perfect, it’s exactly what the Purple needed. Classical went 2-1 last week, with a tough win over Lincoln, one-goal revenge win over Tiverton and a loss to D-III Toll Gate, which might have come at a perfect time of the season. The Purple get to hit the refresh button after Friday’s loss, with no games on the schedule until next week.

2. Rogers (1-1)

While there’s a clear No. 1, there isn’t a clear No. 2 and right now the Vikings have the best case. They opened with a tough win over Tiverton which was followed by a one-goal loss to D-II Narragansett. Weather kept the Vikings off the field last week and with no games on the schedule, it looks like they won’t return until April 21. They’ll have to make the most of their practice time and see if they can keep this thing going.

3. Coventry (1-0)

There’s really not a lot to go on with any of these teams, so let’s give the Oakers some credit for pulling out a win in their season opener. The game took place on April 1, but the only joke is that they haven’t had a chance to take the field since. Coventry will have a good test Friday at D-III Toll Gate before playing teams in D-IV the following week.

4. Scituate (0-0)

According to the RIIL website and MaxPreps, the Spartans haven’t played a game yet this season which means they still have a perfect record so they earn this spot here. While it’s a late start, it’s not a bad deal for Scituate, which hosts Lincoln on Monday and plays an afternoon game at D-III Smithfield on Wednesday. If they grab a win in the first week of their season, expect to see the Spartans ranked again next week.

ON THE BUBBLE: North Providence (2-1)

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Rhode Island

Man critically hurt in Providence stabbing

Published

2 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Man critically hurt in Providence stabbing

A man was critically hurt in a stabbing in Providence on Tuesday, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports.

Police were first called to Smith Street around 7 p.m. for the reported stabbing. They found the victim on Chalkstone Avenue.

He was taken to the hospital where he remains in critical condition.

The case remains under investigation and no arrests were announced.

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Rhode Island

What will happen at the 2026 Rhode Island State Amateur? History.

Published

12 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

What will happen at the 2026 Rhode Island State Amateur? History.

SEEKONK – Day 2 of qualifying play at the 2026 Rhode Island State Amateur wasn’t about moving up the leaderboard. With rain falling all day and winds picking up later, it was about survival.

Bobby Leopold survived a three-putt bogey on his opening hole and went on to shoot a 1-over 72, giving him a two-day score of 67-72-139 and medalist honors. Players who left Ledgemont Country Club at 7-over par hoping to make a playoff survived and were inside the cutline. Seven players will return Wednesday morning, trying to survive a playoff and earn the final spot in the match play portion of the tournament.

While the weather is set for a dramatic 180 for the rest of the week – minus potential storms Friday – survival will be the word of the day for the next two rounds. Match play is a different animal and keeping a steady hand as you ride the ups and downs is how you end up a champion.

So who will be the winner this week? You could wait for Friday – or you could check out predictions below.

First Round Picks

Six players will battle for the No. 32 seed, but honestly there’s no point. Bobby Leopold isn’t losing the first match of the day. In a battle of two former Rhode Island All-Staters, No. 17 Cole Vieira is the pick over No. 16 Jasper Bruin Slot because his lefthandedness will prove to be advantageous – just don’t ask me how.

Anything can happen in a matchup between college players, so we’ll take No. 8 Shawn Clary – a rising sophomore at Bryant – over No. 25 Adam Gorman – a rising junior at York College – simply because Clary is 6-foot-3 and should be able to dunk. No. 9 Harry Dessel is a slam-dunk pick over No. 24 David Marshall because Dessel is a robot sent from the future to compete for RIGA titles.

No. 4 Sam Powell is the favorite over No. 29 Tyler Cooke, but Cooke is the pick because the Rhode Island State Amateur should be won by Rhode Islanders. No. 13 Brendan Lemp and No. 20 Jesse Hellring have the best name matchup and you’re crazy if you think we’re not picking Hellring to win that one.

No. 5 Max Jackson looks locked in and is the pick over No. 28 Nate Winsor. Our final matchup in the top half of the bracket sees No. 12 John Jackopsic – who played at Boston College – taking on No. 21 Matthew Costello – a rising junior at UConn – and since this isn’t a hockey game, we’re taking the Costello because he plays for a school that is actually trying to win athletic competitions.

Moving down to the bottom half, I’m going to avoid my Metacomet bias and take No. 2 Nathan Davis over No. 31 Antonio Torres, who plays out of MetLinks. No. 18 Jason Kalin has a terrific record in RIGA events, but there’s one guy in the field who has more Instagram followers than me so I’ll pick No. 15 Sonny Kollet in this one.

I expect No. 7 Kevin Silva to go on a deep run, but I’ll pick Prout All-Stater Rocco Capalbo – seeded 26^th – in the upset because I’m biased toward the kid I’ve covered in high school. I’m not taking No. 10 Jake Bauer over No. 23 Roland Gibson for this reason; Bauer’s just built to win and will be out for vengeance after falling in last year’s final.

Defending champ Mike Calef – seeded third – won’t lose in the first round against No. 30 Matt Shubley and we’re going to need No. 13 Tim Carroll to get a win over No. 19 Henry Sheehan to set up some friendly fire among clubmates for the next round.

Kevin Blaser has a State Am title to his name, but he’s also entering the stage of life where playing early-morning golf after two rain-soaked days proves tougher than you it did in previous years. No. 27 Drew MacLeod – the Providence Journal High School Player of the Year – is the pick and if he wins this, he could very well win the whole thing.

In the final matchup of the bottom half of the bracket, we’re going to take the best athlete in the tournament – No. 11 Austin Cilley, a former Westerly star hooper – to take down No. 22 John Drohen.

Round of 16 predictions

We’re going to run the football here, as Vieira’s left-handed wizardry runs its course against Leopold, the tournament’s true magician. Dessel is giving up height to Clary, but when you’re a stone-cold killer it doesn’t matter so we’ll send him right to Thursday’s quarterfinal.

There are infinite puns with Hellring vs. Cooke, so let’s take Hellring and see if one of the copy editors makes us change to [expletive]ring. Jackson vs. Costello is a lock for extra holes, but Jackson’s All-State soccer background means he has the endurance needed to grab the win.

Kollet needs to beat Davis for the memes and since it’s his home course, he’ll be the pick here. Capalbo will give Bauer fits, but Bauer’s experience will be the difference.

It’ll be curious to see if some Wanumetonomy take the short trip to Seekonk to check our Calef vs. Carroll in a match where bragging rights might mean more than moving on. Calef gets by in a tough one. It’s hard to pick against MacLeod, but his go-for-bust approach could prove fruitful. He’s the pick in an upset over Cilley and hopefully he’ll have enough time to get the Journal All-State photo shoot afterward.

Quarterfinal round

You want a statement? Here’s one – whoever wins the Leopold-Dessel match wins the tourney. This will be the most boring match on the planet, filled with nothing but great golf and absolutely no celebrations. Jackson sends Hellring to the depths and earns the other semifinal spot.

Bauer will be a runaway favorite over Kollet, but I’m curious to see if Kollet’s social media following comes through and interested parties show up to watch him play. Maybe a full gallery – or at least the RIGA version – gets to Bauer and the Cranston West alum grab pulls off an upset on his home course. Sure, why not.

MacLeod, hopefully armed with his brand new All-State bracelet, will jump out big early against Calef, but the defending champ’s consistency will allow him to weather the storm, come back and pick up the win.

Semifinal predictions

I know I just said whoever wins Leopold-Dessel will win the tournament but I’m going back on that because I think what happened Monday and Tuesday will greatly affect the older players. Jackson still has infinite energy and while Leopold is far from an old-timer, Jackson’s steady play and ability to never get tired earns him a spot in the final.

Kollet’s magic runs out here. Calef is too good and even if all 200,000 of Kollet’s followers show up, Calef won’t be spooked. Calef wins and Kollet will now have to deal with a 9.4 handicap (no big deal) sending him DMs looking for both golf and social media advice.

Who will win the 2026 RI State Amateur?

Calef has a chance to become a legend, with a win making him the 15^th player to win back-to-back State Amateurs, the 11^th since World War II and the third in the last 25 years.

But it’s not happening.

Max Jackson’s game has matured. He won two state titles thanks to accuracy and his short-game play, but as he got bigger and stronger he added distance but lost precision. It’s back and we’re seeing Jackson turn into the player we thought he could have been when he played in his first State Amateur at a 14-year old.

I was at Pawtucket Country Club when Jackson debuted and, provided the weather behaves, will be there Friday for what could be another historic first.

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Rhode Island

The Must C’s of Rhode Island

Published

23 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

This article is sponsored by Rhode Island.

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but don’t let its size fool you. The Ocean State packs an impressive amount of personality into its coastline, from thriving LGBTQ+ nightlife and local food favorites to waterfront views, creative neighborhoods, and one of New England’s most vibrant Pride celebrations.

Travelers looking to stay in the heart of the action will find plenty of options, including Aloft Providence Downtown, which places visitors within easy reach of Pride festivities, nightlife, local attractions, and many of the destinations that make Providence Pride weekend so memorable.

If you’re wondering how to make the most of the experience, start with the six Must C’s of Rhode Island.

Courtesy of Rhode Island

Cuisine

Good food is never hard to find here. Start the morning with brunch at Small Format, then grab small bites at Track 15 between events. Satisfy your late-night cravings with buck naked fries at Friskie Fries after the block parties, or grab something more hearty from Pizza Queen. Together, they offer a taste of the variety that defines Rhode Island’s food scene.

Coast

They don’t call it the Ocean State for nothing. Rhode Island’s coastal identity is woven into everything from its waterfront views to its relaxed atmosphere. Spend time along Providence’s RiverWalk, take in the views around India Point Park, or venture toward nearby seaside communities where the Atlantic is never far away. Whether you’re exploring Providence or heading farther afield, the coast remains part of the experience.

Courtesy of Rhode Island

Culture

Providence is filled with independent businesses, local art, and neighborhoods that invite exploration. A stroll down Wickenden Street lets you browse Pride gear at Mister Sister, then grab something more wholesome for mom at Nostalgia Antiques. Many local businesses and community spaces continue to shape the city’s creative identity, while nearby Federal Hill offers another vibrant corner of Providence worth exploring. During your time on Federal Hill, be sure to stop by Heartleaf Books, the only employee-owned, queer/trans-owned, and “seemingly first bookstore ever in Federal Hill.”

Cocktails

When the sun goes down, Rhode Island’s LGBTQ+ nightlife comes alive. Pride weekend block parties spill into the evening as venues like The Eagle, Stable, and The Dark Lady fill with dancers, drag performances, and celebration. You can also stop in at the country’s third-oldest gay bar, Mirabar, or head into The VU Lounge & Bistro that offers lounge seating and a food menu until 10 pm. Whether you’re joining the Friday night festivities, catching Sangria Sunday at Stable, or simply looking for a place to raise a glass with friends, these community gathering spots help keep the energy going long after the daytime events end.

Courtesy of Rhode Island

Community

One of Rhode Island’s greatest strengths is its people. LGBTQ+ organizations, creators, performers, and businesses help shape a welcoming atmosphere throughout the year. Community-driven spaces and voices, including projects like Fruit Loop PVD, highlight the people and stories that make Providence feel connected and inclusive, both during Pride weekend and throughout the year.

Courtesy of Rhode Island

Celebrations

If there is one time when all of these elements come together, it’s Pride. From browsing vendors at PrideFest in the 195 District Park to gathering at dusk as the parade makes its way through the city, Providence Pride weekend transforms the city into one continuous celebration, with music, performances, and community filling the streets.

Rhode Island may be America’s smallest state, but when it comes to food, culture, nightlife, and Pride, it delivers an experience that feels anything but small. Come for one of the C’s, and you’ll probably discover the rest along the way.

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