For the Peters Township High School girls' lacrosse team, there have been two constants in recent years -- new coaches and winning seasons.

Gretchen Moul is the Indians' third coach in the past three seasons. But Peters Township, which has appeared in the past three WPIAL title games and won the championship last year, has continued to thrive.

The Indians are 10-4 overall, 6-2 in Section 3 and ranked third in the area by the Post-Gazette after dropping a tough 13-12 decision to Mt. Lebanon in a section match last Tuesday.

"As I've told other people, these girls have made the most of their situation," Moul said. "It's not even an issue for them. Back when I was in high school, I would have been up in arms. These players are very strong-willed and driven."

And for the new coach, the change has been easy, too. Moul, who coached the Upper St. Clair middle school team last year, is a Peters Township graduate.

"I came in and, probably compared to most coaches, was able to make an easy transition," she said. "I had coached most of these girls when they were in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. I was already familiar with many of the families. It was a nice situation for me."

In the process, Moul also inherited a talented team fresh off a 21-1 season and a victory over Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL championship game.

Peters Township won its first five games this season before losing back-to-back matches against Ohio schools. In all, the Indians won their first 10 games against WPIAL competition before losing to Upper St. Clair, 17-16, on May 1.

"I don't want to say that losing to Upper St. Clair was bittersweet, it was just bitter," said Moul, who also has coached the Upper St. Clair junior varsity team

Moul saw a bright side to the loss to Upper St. Clair.

"We have such a fantastic group of athletes here," she said. "My biggest challenge, with them being as good as they are, is finding ways for them to continue to improve."

The Peters Township roster features 13 seniors, led by NCAA Division I recruits, midfielder Jenn Doran (Cincinnati) and Laura Sunday (UC-Davis).

"Jenn is amazing," Moul said. "She's one of the fastest girls on the field. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with. She's so motivated to win and expects nothing less than that. She is what I would call a fierce competitor."

Doran recently completed a stretch where she scored a combined 17 goals in victories over Seton-La Salle, Quaker Valley and Fox Chapel, earning Post-Gazette Athlete of the Week honors.

Along the way, she made an impression on Fox Chapel coach Geoff Dutelle.

"Jenn is a fantastic player," Dutelle said. "We tried shutting her off one-on-one, and it really only delayed the damage. She still got her goals, as players of her caliber do.

"Jenn has a cannon of a shot and moves very well without the ball, but I feel she also played well with the talent around her. It is worth noting that they have a tremendous supporting cast."

Moul agreed: "We have juniors who are already being recruited and have different options of where they want to play. We have plenty of sophomores and juniors who can go in and not miss a beat."

Included in that junior class is midfielder Lauren Ray. Moul said Ray's play reminds her of Peters Township graduate Paige McMenamin, who plays at national powerhouse Northwestern.

"She's extremely intelligent," Moul said. "I've always said lacrosse is not intended to be a physical sport. It's intended to be played with a lot of skill. Lauren is totally level-headed, and she's really come out of nowhere for us."

Rounding out Peters' seniorclass are goalie Alexa Walnoha, defenders Annie Tarwater, Janel Carey and Ann Wawrose, midfielders Kelly McGrail and Becca Elderkin, and attackers Morgan Murray, Ally Oleynik, Laura Quinn, Tina Elderkin and Sasha Machel.

The remainder of Peters' junior class includes attacker Samantha Schwartz, defenders Jenna Simmons, Cassidy Shem, and Amanda Wylie and goalie Corey Sam.

The Indians' sophomores include midfielders Ellie Hanlon, Jules Femiani and Brianna Kilberg, defender Rachel Sunday and attacker Jules Makrinos.