Four for four. For as many years as the R.I. Interscholastic League has held a girls' lacrosse state championship, the Barrington High School Eagles have won it. They begin defense of their crown next week with a new coach, new leaders and tougher competition.

Coach Peter Brock takes over for Steve Pickford. A new father, Pickford opted to step aside after leading the Eagles to two titles and with coach of the year honors.

Barrington also lost eight players to graduation from last year's team, including three All-Staters, Lindsey Ferguson, Martha Colella and Marina Guertin.

"I try to get the girls not to think about it," Brock said of the chase for another championship. "We've been so successful because we have such a strong feeder program. There are 70 kids playing at the middle school this year."

"But there are a lot of good athletes around the state. The league keeps getting tighter and tighter," he added

For the first time in the five years of lacrosse, enough teams are now playing the sport to allow for the league to be broken up into two groups.

The Eagles, of course, are in Division One, along with rival North Kingstown, Portsmouth, LaSalle, Lincoln High and Middletown.

"The schedule is tougher," said Brock. "If Mount St. Charles (hockey) can lose, so can we. We're just going to do our best to fend it off as long as we can."

One can't blame the new coach for trying to deflect some of the spotlight and pressure from his team. The Eagles, however, remain the benchmark for the rest of the state.

"We're trying not to talk about the past," said Brock, an assistant coach at Providence County Day for five years and a teacher at Case High in Swansea. "We're concentrating on this year and the future."

Three seniors take over the baton of leadership on the team. Julie Bilodeau is one of the premier players in the area. Allison LaCross plays defense. And Evelyn deChauny plays the point.

Six juniors make up the bulk of the Barrington roster. Emily Ferguson plays attack. Katie Giuliano is a winger. Neko Catanzano plays defense. Jessica Fadale and Amanda Avila are attackers. Katie Murphy is another winger.

Six sophomores round out the returning varsity players. Julie Ruggieri is a center-mid. Courtney Neves and Noel Barlow play the wing. Petra Weiss and Olivia Froncillo were late-season additions to last year's varsity. Tara Geraghty replaces Guertin in goal.

"We have some very good, skilled players," said Brock. "We have Tara in goal. Marina is tough to replace, but I don't think we'll miss a beat with Tara there."

A group of five or six other underclassmen are battling for the few precious spots remaining on this season's team.

"They all really work hard. It's obvious that they like to work," said Brock, whose daughter, Sarah, was a member of BHS title teams before graduating in 2003. "It's easy to get them to go out and do their best. That's all we can do."

Girls' Lacrosse Barrington High Division One

2005 schedule

April

1: Mt. Hope, 3:30 p.m.; 5: LaSalle, 3:45 p.m.; 12: Lincoln High, 3:30 p.m.; 14: at Middletown, 3:30 p.m.; 19: North Kingstown, 2 p.m.; 21: Portsmouth, 1 p.m.; 26: at LaSalle, 6 p.m.; 28: at Lincoln High, 3:30 p.m.; 29: Wheeler, 4 p.m.

May

3: Middletown, 3:30 p.m.; 5: at North Kingstown, 7 p.m.; 9: Moses Brown, 4:15 p.m.; 10: at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.; 12: Lincoln School, 4 p.m.

2004 notes

Record: 11-1-1 in Division One, 12-3-1 overall

Playoffs: defeated Mt. Hope, 17-1, quarterfinals; defeated Middletown, 9-8, semifinals; defeated North Kingstown, 10-8, finals

BY MIKE REGO

mrego@eastbaynewspapers.com