A Winning Mix: Young and Old Sparks Patriots

The Northern boys' lacrosse team entered the season with plenty of questions. One of the answers has come from an unlikely duo.

Patriots Coach Joe Bissette knew he had a talented player in Peter Athens, but the freshman attack has surprised him by leading the team in both goals and assists. Athens has been complemented well by senior David Taylor, a midfielder who will play at Queens College next year.

Taylor is a three-sport athlete who leads Northern in ground balls and faceoff percentage. Bissette said that he combines that athleticism with the unselfish nature needed in a team leader.

"He has the type of athletic ability I wish I could have had when I played," Bissette said. "But he's also smart enough to recognize that while they give Peter a hard time because he's a freshman -- that he's talented. He does what he can to get him the ball."

That duo has led Northern (6-1) to the top of the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference. Its only loss came in a nonconference game against Southern. The Patriots lost 14-5 after going into halftime with the game tied 5-5.

"Our inexperience showed through a little," said Bissette, whose Patriots have won their other six games by a combined score of 87-19. "But it was the kind of game we needed to play to grow up a little bit."

The Patriots should get a key conference test Thursday when they go to Leonardtown (5-3).

Northern is the only undefeated team in the conference, at 5-0. The Raiders lost to Huntingtown early in the season but avenged the loss with a 9-5 win two weeks later.

Last year, Leonardtown won the SMAC title with an undefeated record and handed the Patriots their only conference loss.

Ryken on the Rise

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The St. Mary's Ryken's girls' lacrosse team has already cleared one hurdle, eclipsing last season's win total of two; and a number of narrow losses have its coach believing the program is on the brink of breaking through in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

The Knights (3-5) have lost twice by one-goal margins, including an overtime decision on Wednesday against Paul VI. But Coach Becky Sancomb doesn't want her team believing that merely coming close is an accomplishment.

"It's completely a case of just understanding what it takes to win," Sancomb said. "Paul VI was the first game where we really got the idea that, 'Hey, we can do this.' Now we're at a level where it's not just good enough to get close to winning, we're capable of winning. We want to get over the mentality where it's okay to just have three wins."

Sancomb added that she expects the program to benefit from the influx of youth programs sprouting up around Southern Maryland, which has produced the Knights' top scorer, freshman Lauren Feusahrens.