Life in Division I hasn't been easy for Middletown lacrosse. Portsmouth know how it feels.

MIDDLETOWN — It was somewhat of a celebration on May 13, when the Portsmouth and Middletown high school boys lacrosse teams squared off in a Division I regular season contest on the Gaudet Middle School turf.

Middletown and Newport players from Island Youth Lacrosse went against Portsmouth Youth Lacrosse in an under-13 game prior to the high school contest. At halftime of the main attraction, first- and second-graders from each youth group entertained in a 10-minute scrimmage that left smiles on the faces of laughing spectators, no matter who they favored.

Middletown High has wanted to play lacrosse in the state’s top division and this season the Islanders got their wish. So instead of being classified as a scrimmage or nonleague affair, the May 13 game counted in the league standings for the first time since 2004, when all 10 teams in the state were in Division I.

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Portsmouth scored six consecutive goals spanning the second and third quarters to open a 9-2 lead and won 12-6.

“It was different,” Portsmouth senior midfielder Marcus Evans said. “But it’s awesome getting to play a rivalry again. We don’t have those teams on the island to play, so it’s nice to play them because the atmosphere is always crazy.”

“It was really fun, an island rival. It was great to play guys I’ve known growing up,” Middletown attack Luc Guerin said. “Definitely challenging. Portsmouth’s been great for a long time. Whenever we played them since my freshman year, it’s been a huge crowd. I love to see it.”

Growing pains for both teams

Portsmouth has played 16 seasons in Division I and two in Division II. The Patriots were in D-II in 2016 and again in 2019, when it lost in the championship game. That was when the current seniors were freshmen. After COVID canceled the 2020 campaign, the Patriots who returned were introduced to Division I play.

“The level of competition is different, that’s obvious,” Portsmouth senior attack Jack Cianciolo said. “But the way defenses work. A lot of times freshman year we’d have not very strong slides on man (defenses), or we play a lot of pack-three zones.

“Now we’re seeing a lot more complex defenses that are more prepared to slide and stop cutters and such. That definitely was one of the hardest things to get used to. As a team overall, it took about three weeks, five games maybe.”

The Islanders played in Division III for four seasons and dominated, advancing to the championship game three times, winning one title and recording a 52-10 overall record.

Middletown moved to Division II its second season of existence and spent 12 years there. The Islanders won back-to-back D-II titles in 2017 and 2018 and own an 86-77 record at that level. After the setback on May 13, the Islanders were 1-6 in Division I with their average loss coming by 11 goals.

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“The difference is like night and day,” Middletown senior midfielder Brady Ashness said. “Catching and throwing, shooting, pretty much everything from D-II to D-I is a huge step from last year to this year.

“People’s ability to play one-on-one. There’s a lot of guys that can really go at you one-on-one that you didn’t see last year.”

Still, there is an upside to going against the best teams in the state.

“One thing I’ve really enjoyed is every time I get the ball, (opposing) coaches know what I’m going to do,” Guerin said. “I have to challenge myself to move off ball faster, work through the double teams and really get ready for the next level. I’ve got to move my feet three times as hard.”

Friendly advice

Portsmouth lost six games last season in Division I and five of the losses were by an average of 11 goals. So they know how Middletown players feel and offered some advice to their rivals.

“The first year can definitely be rough. You just have to kind of adapt,” Cianciolo said. “The level of competition just changes the intensity, and it’s definitely a lot higher.

“We weren’t really intense as a team, like hustling for ground balls, making a lot of hustle plays backing up shots hard. I feel like those are the key difference-makers — ground balls, backing up shots staying out of the penalty box.”

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Evans said, “I’d say just trust each other. Don’t get down on each other. Lacrosse is a game of runs. So when one team scores five goals, you can be the team that scores six next.

“You really just have to keep in it and hopefully make a stop and then you go on your run and it’s a whole new ballgame.”

Guerin, Ashness, Patrick Healey Dowd and John Carroll are seniors and playing their only season in Division I for Middletown. There are 11 juniors, six sophomores and nine freshmen on the roster who can return next season.

Guerin, who will continue playing lacrosse at Wheaton College, will be prepping himself for another level of play and hopes the Islanders returnees do the same.

“I think the most important thing for them is to work hard in the offseason, hit the wall,” Guerin said. “We have a lot of new guys, about 10 guys that never touched a stick before coming up — upperclassmen. And it’s hard for the little guys — the underclassmen — to step up because they’re so young and small. So we need the older guys to put the work in.”

Against the Islanders on May 13, Cianciolo led the Portsmouth offense with three goals and two assists. Evans and Owen Cianciolo had two goals and an assist each, Will Howard netted two goals, Indiana Pacheco had a goal and two assists, Tony Martucci had a goal and assist, Logan West scored a goal and goalie Dan Shea made three saves in the first three quarters.

Keaton O’Shea notched four goals, Guerin and Ashness had a goal apiece, Matt O’Hagan had an assist and goalie Christian Berluti made 10 saves and had an assist.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school boys lacrosse: Middletown, Portsmouth in Division I