Adriane LaRussa is a coach for the Intrepid girls' lacrosse club, one of the top programs for the development of young players in Western Pennsylvania.

Many of the top players from the area have played for Intrepid since it was founded five years ago. Many of them have moved on to play at Division I college programs.

So LaRussa knows a thing or two about girls' lacrosse talent. So when she was asked to take over the girls' varsity program at Shady Side Academy this spring, LaRussa gladly accepted because she knew there was plenty of talent in the school's program.

"A lot of the younger players [at Shady Side] have played with travel, club teams and particularly with Intrepid," LaRussa said. "A lot of our girls still participate with club teams where they experience elite coaching during the offseason.

"I've coached some [Shady Side freshmen] when they were in middle school where I became familiar with them through the club system."

Shady Side Academy has a solid nucleus of returning players. Last year, the Indians finished as the WPIAL Division 2 runner-up to Quaker Valley. The Indians lost to Quaker Valley in the final by one goal after winning the Division 2, Section 2 championship with a 10-0 section mark and had a 15-3 overall record in 2009.

There are eight experienced seniors who are blending with a strong class of freshmen and other underclassmen. Three of the seniors -- center Nicole Wei, attacker Jennifer Cozen and midfielder Emily Ellis -- serve as team captains.

Wei was the team's top scorer after two games with six goals while Cozen has three goals and a team-leading five assists.

Other seniors expected to lead Shady Side on another title run include low attack/midfielder Hannah Brown, midfielder Elsa Helberg, goalie Delia Loughrey, defender Molly Marous and defensive midfielder Lauren Wool.

Shady Side Academy did not begin its season until 11 days after the official start of the WPIAL schedule, which commenced March 26. While many WPIAL teams played several games before Easter weekend, Shady Side Academy did not begin play until April 6 because classes were not in session due to a spring break.

The Indians (4-0, 3-0) won their season-opener, 14-10, against North Hills. The victory against North Hills was a section contest. This was followed two days later with a non-section rout of host Greensburg Central Catholic, 15-5. They then defeated Ellis, 13-3, last week and Vincentian, 17-11, Tuesday in two more section matches.

"The two weeks we were off set us back, but we're working hard so we can play in a higher division next year," LaRussa said.

She beefed up the non-section schedule to include Division 1 powerhouses Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township, who have combined to win the past eight Western Pennsylvania girls' lacrosse championships.

The WPIAL Division 1 champion qualifies for the PIAA playoffs. The WPIAL Division 2 champion is not eligible for the PIAA playoffs.

"We'd like to compete for an opportunity to go to states," LaRussa said. "It gives you a true season and shows you where you rank with the rest of the PIAA."

Although Shady Side has received plenty of offense from its senior class, there is also offensive talent among the younger players. Freshman midfielder Felicia Tissenbaum and freshmen low attacker Lia Winter have been key contributors to the offense.

Sophomore midfielder Audrey Buckman have also and sophomore attack wing Annie Pooley have also helped the attack.

Others contributing to the team's early-season success include junior defender Ally Ross, sophomore defender Dima Kharma and junior midfielder Katie Prochownik.

There are 11 freshmen in the Shady Side program. Many play mainly for the junior varsity, but LaRussa sees this as a very strong group with great potential beyond this spring.

"We have only one player among our freshmen who is brand new to the sport and she is very athletic, so she's been able to jump right in. We refreshed on the fundamentals, but we were able to quickly move right into playing the game without having to teach anybody the basics.

"Everybody has already played at least one season of middle school lacrosse or club lacrosse where they are taught by college-level coaching."

LaRussa came to Shady Side with extensive coaching experience, having served head-coaching stints at Allderdice and Winchester Thurston, where she is an administrator. Last season, she was an assistant at Duquesne University, a Division I women's program.

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