The Duxbury girls’ softball team is quietly building itself into a Patriot League powerhouse after completing a three-game sweep last week with wins over Hingham (21-9), Hanover (8-7) and Whitman-Hanson (4-2).

Junior pitcher Micaela Lannon was on the mound for all three wins, while classmate Caroline McSherry provided the thunder at the plate with a home run and nine RBI to go along with a .666 batting average during the winning streak.

The Duxbury boys’ lacrosse team turned in its best performance of the year on Saturday afternoon when it beat nationally-ranked Niskayuna (NY), 8-7, on Sam Sweet’s goal with 13 seconds remaining.

What appeared to be a high-scoring affair when both teams scored a trio of goals in a 17-second span early in the first quarter, suddenly turned into a defensive struggle, as neither team was able to get more than a two-goal lead throughout the afternoon under overcast skies in Duxbury.

(WILLIAMS GETS A SCOOP: Senior Chris Williams picks up a ground ball in Thursday’s win over Lincoln-Sudbury. Photo by Jim Tarbox)

The Duxbury boys’ lacrosse team still holds the No. 1 ranking in Massachusetts, but it isn’t coming any easier as the season progresses.

After a stunning win over NY powerhouse Jamesville DeWitt of Syracuse during spring break, the Dragons have taken down the best the Bay State has to offer, sandwiched around a 10-5 loss to nationally ranked power and the No. 1 team in NY, Garden City of Long Island.

(CRAZY EIGHTS: Junior Tina Belzotti scores one of her eight goals in Saturday’s tie with New Hampshire powerhouse, Londonderry.)

One fan was heard to ask, “Does this mean they are that good if they score 19 goals?”

For Coach Kelly Jurgens, it was a positive sign that her offense is as loaded as she expected. But letting the opposition score 19 points too didn’t exactly sit well with the second-year varsity lacrosse coach.

“We have our moments of brilliance,” “But I’m struggling as to how to get our team to give a full 50-minute effort,” said Jurgens, after watching her squad come back on numerous occasions against Londonderry, N.H.

(DOWN FOR THE COUNT: Duxbury goaltender Henry Buonagurio gets leveled by Irondequoit’s Nick Doktor is Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Eagles. Photo: Jim Tarbox)

Duxbury Coach Chris Sweet predicted this would be one of the most challenging schedules his Dragons have every faced since he took over the program, and it won’t take long to discover how accurate he was.

After cruising to a pair of lopsided victories over Quincy and North Quincy, the Dragons played the first of many tough games on their 2012 schedule when they met Irondequoit from upstate New York on Saturday afternoon in Duxbury.

(GOING FOR TWO IN A ROW: DHS lacrosse captains for the 2012 season include, front: Max Randall and Henry Buonaguiro, while  Assistant Coach Tony Fisher and Head Coach Chris Sweet flank James Burke and Paul Hellar.)

The Duxbury HS athletic program is on another hot streak after winning the Division II girls’ hockey title earlier this month. Since the start of the 2010 academic year the Dragons have won State titles in five consecutive seasons. Could Chris Sweet’s lacrosse team make it six?

Having won eight State titles in the last 10 seasons, the Dragons are once again the favorites to repeat with a slew of college-recruited veterans returning for their final high school seasons.

If there was any doubt about the confidence level of the Duxbury High School girls’ hockey team, it was never in evidence prior to Saturday night’s game with DII North champions, Belmont HS, when the Lady Dragons danced to the music of The Village People’s YMCA before taking the ice at the Gallo Arena in Bourne.

Considered by many to be the best girls’ hockey team in the state, regardless of division, the Lady Dragons had their iPods blaring and the PA system blasting away with enough tunes to induce a pre-game jump to their skate.

(TRIPLE PLAY: Three Natick defenders tried to stop Michela North from scoring two of her 31 points.)

There is no denying the 2011-12 Duxbury HS girls’ basketball team played with heart in the MIAA Division II South Sectionals that ended for the Lady Dragons with a 60-54 OT loss to Natick on Friday night in Natick.

Led by Michela North’s 31 points, the Lady Dragons wiped out an 11-point deficit in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime before losing in the extra four minutes.

North was incredible, scoring 11 points in a two and a half minute span to tie the game at 50-50, and then buried two clutch free throws with 23 seconds left in the game to tie it up at 52-52.

(Senior Colleen Leddie celebrates her hat trick during Monday night's 4-1 win over Sandwich. Photo: Jim Tarbox)

Forward Colleen Leddie has been a member of the DHS girls’ hockey program for four years. During that time she has been over-shadowed by a variety of teammates, especially this year riding alongside scoring machines Hannah Murphy and Lily Connolly.

Listening to the post-game celebration in the Duxbury locker room, there is no question she isn’t living in the shadows anymore. With chants of “Leddie, Leddie, Leddie” echoing throughout the locker room and the stands, the Lady Dragons and their fans were acknowledging the efforts of their teammate after she scored her first career hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Sandwich in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Division II South Sectional.

The DHS girls’ basketball team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the early round of the MIAA tournament with a thrilling 59-56 overtime win over #3 seeded Falmouth on Wednesday night on Cape Cod.

The #14 seeded Lady Dragons came into the tournament with a 13-7 record, while the Clippers were sporting an impressive 17-1 mark.

After watching what transpired in the first eight minutes, it was obvious why Falmouth was so highly touted, as they raced to an 18-8 first quarter lead while putting doubts in the minds of Duxbury.

(THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: Sophomore goaltender Rachel Myette led the league with eight shutouts and a .933 GAA.)

For a town with fewer than 1,000 students in its high school, you can’t find another town around with a school that can bring as much joy to a community when it comes to post-season play as Duxbury High School.

While track, swimming and wrestling seem to take a back seat to basketball and hockey on the winter scene, those three sports have produced a State champion in track (Emily Doyle), a sixth-place team finish in girls’ swimming at the State championships and a wrestler who went on to compete in the All-States.

The Duxbury Bay Maritime School is pleased to announce that Ali Dimatteo has joined the DBMS coaching staff.  After graduating from Duxbury High School in 2007 and spending endless hours on the water at DBMS learning to row, competing for the high school team and working as a summer instructor, Dimatteo moved on to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to join the Class of ’11.

Junior Michela North scored 19 points last Tuesday night in Hingham to lead the Lady Dragons to an exciting 50-48 win over the Harborwomen. What made the evening even more special was the All-Star forward joined an elite group of women who have scored 1000 points in their DHS basketball careers.

North had an opportunity to break the 1000-point barrier with six seconds left in the first quarter, but her free throw bounced off the rim delaying the celebration by Duxbury fans. It didn’t seem to bother the forward who scored six points to give Duxbury a 17-5 lead after the first eight minutes of play. With anticipation growing on every trip down the court, Duxbury fans finally had their chance to cheer with 6:36 left in the second quarter when North buried a pair of free throws for 1001 career points: the fastest it has been done by any DHS female player.

Duxbury High School senior Emily Doyle has become the first female in school history to win an indoor State track title when she won the 300m at the Division III track championships on Friday afternoon at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

The Colby College-bound runner ran a :41.62 to beat out Patriot League foe Kaitlyn Elinoff of Hingham for the second time in two weeks, having previously defeated her at the Patriot League championships with a personal-best time of :41.15.

[EYES ON THE PRIZE: The Duxbury girls’ swim team poses after finishing in 5th place at the South/Central Sectionals at the MIAA Swimming & Diving Championships at MIT on Saturday. They will compete for the State title Sunday at Harvard.]

A total of 15 female athletes traveled to the MIAA South/Central Sectional Swimming & Diving Championships on Saturday held at the Zesiger Pool at MIT.