Lake Braddock Banking On Seniors

Lake Braddock's field hockey team is off to a fast start, having won all six of its games by a combined score of 20-3. But Bruins Coach Diane Miller is too cognizant of the past to get too excited about the present.

Lake Braddock has started strong in several recent seasons, but the Bruins have not won a region title since 2002.

One reason Miller thinks this year might be different, though, is the presence of nine seniors.

"I'm just hoping the experience factor alone [makes a difference], because several have been on varsity for three years now and I'm hoping that will carry us through the district games and regional tournament," she said.

The eighth-ranked Bruins' closest contest so far came in a 3-2 overtime win against Chantilly at the beginning of the month. They also had an impressive 4-0 win over Langley on Monday and will face perhaps their toughest test yet when W.T. Woodson visits next Monday.

Early Top 10 Test

One of the season's first great matchups takes place today when No. 9 Good Counsel visits No. 5 Bethesda-Chevy Chase.

This is the second year of a home-and-home series between the Falcons, who were 2007 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions, and the Barons, last season's Maryland 3A runners-up. B-CC won last year's game, 5-2.

"This is the first challenge," B-CC Coach Amy Wood said. "We're very young, with 5 seniors, 15 juniors and 3 sophomores. We have to develop and ask them to grow really fast and this will be an early test of that. Win or lose, this can only help, because this will be what the games are like at the end of the season when it's a big-game atmosphere."

The Barons opened the season Friday with a 5-1 win over Holton-Arms. Today's game will be the season opener for Good Counsel.

"I'm not going to say that I'm overly confident at all, but we're not afraid to be challenged," Falcons Coach Kelly Stodter said. "I think we're very quick and skilled and I'm not sure how it's going to fly, but I think if we play hard and never quit, it will be a very good game."

Rearranged by Rain

The Independent School League's play day, which each year offers teams a sneak peek at one another before the games actually count, was canceled Saturday because of rain.

For No. 1 St. Stephen's/St. Agnes, the reigning ISL champion, the elimination of those scrimmages will create an added element of the unknown -- and a little extra anxiety for Coach Marsha Way -- when league play begins next week.

"It's a little interesting not knowing what the other league teams look like," said Way, whose team opened the season Tuesday with a 3-1 nonconference win over Holy Cross. "We can't practice anything specifically [for an opponent], so it's much more scattershot, what we're doing. It's almost back to basics, shoring up everything so it's strong, because we're not going to be working on any special corners or any certain movement." . . .

The South River Invitational, typically one of the area's best early-season tournaments, was postponed by rain from last Saturday to this Saturday and had to be scaled back because of scheduling rules.

Originally, each of the four teams -- South River, Quince Orchard, Glenelg and Severn -- would have played two games apiece. But because public schools cannot play more than three games in a week, Quince Orchard and Glenelg can play only once Saturday.

Glenelg, a 1A team that uses the high level of competition as a springboard each season, might be hurt the most by losing a game.

"We haven't won any games there yet," Gladiators Coach Ginger Kincaid said, "but we're always such a better team when we leave there."