Tenth-ranked Dulaney and No. 11 Century entered the season with some uncertainty because of the caliber of players who graduated last year.

However, both programs are confident that their returning players will help the newcomers understand what it takes to make a deep run into the spring. In the Baltimore Lacrosse Showcase yesterday at Dulaney, they did not disappoint, as Century's junior midfielder Katie Schwarzmann scored five goals and had two assists to lead the Knights past the Lions, 10-9.

"Every day, we just work harder on passing, catching and working together," said Schwarzmann, a second-team All-Metro pick last season. "The team is young, and it is different from last year. We are building each day on getting better."

The Knights (3-0), who have won three state titles in the past four years, never trailed but could not put together a string of goals to put the game out of reach. Century never led by more than three goals, and goalie Kaitlin Pentz (10 saves) came up with several big saves to help the Knights keep their lead.

The Knights, who graduated eight starters, also did a nice job of spreading the ball around as six different players scored goals, including two by Brittney Sipes.

"In a tight game like that, you don't have those all of the time, but when you do, you want to see how your team is going to respond. I think both teams did a nice job with that," Century coach Rose Pentz said. "We have quite a few new players. The whole team has a lot of heart, and they want to continue the tradition of Century lacrosse."

Dulaney (1-1) tied the score twice and was effective with moving the ball quickly up the field after forcing a turnover. However, the Lions had problems trying to find a suitable matchup for Schwarzmann, who controlled the offensive end of the field the entire game.

Ana Heneberry and Blair King each had three goals for Dulaney. The Lions lost seven players from last year's team that fell to Severna Park in the Class 4A-3A state championship game.