It's been almost three seasons since the fledgling Greensburg Central Catholic lacrosse team switched from the WPSLA Division 3 to the Division 2 South.

So far, it's turned out to be a perfect move for the Centurions.

Greensburg Central Catholic finished the regular season 7-6 overall and 6-1 in division play. The only division loss came against Baldwin on April 29, when the Highlanders edged them, 6-5.

The Centurions finished as runners-up to Baldwin (12-3, 7-0) in the division.

They received a first-round bye for the upcoming WPSLA playoffs and will meet the winner of the Winchester Thurston vs. Trinity match in the league quarterfinals next week.

Before their loss against Baldwin, the Centurions were 23-0 all-time against Division 2 South opponents in the regular season.

"We've been pretty tough in the section," said Mike Evans, the only coach in the Centurions' five-year history. "We've been very fortunate. We've been lucky in that regard."

The streak nearly ended twice earlier in the season. Greensburg Central Catholic needed overtime to win at Chartiers Valley, 7-6, April 8. Two days later, the Centurions edged Winchester Thurston, 6-5.

"We've had some close games, but we managed to pull them out," Evans said. "Our [section] is getting more and more competitive. There's lots of parity, which is a good thing."

Greensburg Central Catholic is coming off a 2007 season where it finished 12-5 overall, 9-0 in section play, and lost to Winchester Thurston, 8-7, in the semifinals of the Division 2 playoffs.

The Centurions lost their top two scorers from that team, Division 2 Player of the Year Pat Bursch (54 goals, 81 points) and Joe Stunja (27 goals, 53 points).

This year's group has just three seniors on the roster and only one, midfielder David Payne, has played for four seasons. The other seniors are midfielder Mike Jubec and defenseman Ben Himes.

The remainder of the Centurions starting lineup comprises six juniors, attackers Matt Kolonich and Ryan Neeven, defensemen Joey Lunz, Adam Kikel and Dan Fletcher, and goalie Justin Happ.

The Centurions also start two sophomores, attacker Woody Griffith and midfielder Jay Lunz.

Evans' young team gained some valuable experience early this season.

The Centurions started with their traditional opener against Pittsburgh Central Catholic. They lost to the Division I opponent, 10-2.

"We always try to start the year with scrimmages against Division I teams such as North Allegheny and Seneca Valley, then we play Pittsburgh Central Catholic," Evans said. "That game sets the tone for the rest of the year.

As the final score indicated, Evans learned from the opener that his team needed to concentrate on its offense.

"We needed to do a little better job of controlling the ball on offense," he said. "We were pretty good defensively. We just had to work on the fundamentals."

The Centurions responded by posting double-digit goal totals in their next two games, victories against Canon-McMillan, 15-4, and Quaker Valley, 14-7. They also scored more than 10 goals in section wins against Trinity, 15-4, and Morgantown, 12-3.

Teaching fundamentals is nothing new for Evans, who played college lacrosse for Brown University. Greensburg Central Catholic lacks a so-called feeder program, which means most of Evans' team members never played lacrosse before coming to high school.

"We have very few kids who have picked up a stick before ninth grade," he said. "There's a steep learning curve, and we work a lot on stick-handling and ball-control skills.

"But that's absolutely the most fun part of what I do. I'm in the position of teaching and developing players. I enjoy that the most."