Everyone loves a winner. Nevertheless, you might be surprised how many high school lacrosse teams in Massachusetts just don’t like the Dragons.

Winners of five straight Division I State championships and six of the last seven, Duxbury lacrosse has become synonymous with the best the state has to offer.

While winning has brought recognition to the town and to Head Coach Chris Sweet and his Assistant Coach Tony Fisher, it also brings the burden of pressure every time the team takes the field.

As the Dragons enter the 2009 season, they are faced once more with the prospect of seeing their 90-game winning streak against Massachusetts’ public and parochial high schools being challenged. It’s a burden that several teams before them have faced, and all have escaped the supposed embarrassment that would come with it.

Being a member of this year’s team will bring some testing moments. However, every year Sweet is faced with the same scrutiny by fans, foes, and media alike, that wonder if the end of the streak is near.

While the Dragons barely escaped the last two years with an OT win over Xaverian in 2007 and another OT win over Billerica in 2008 that won championships, Sweet knows that several games in the 2009 season could be tests just as severe.

“I feel the pressure going into every year because we have won so many games,” said Sweet. “That’s what the goal is. It’s the goal for myself, as well as the seniors. They don’t want to be the ones who break the streak. They would be disappointed, along with every member of the team. I’d be disappointed too, but we put a lot of expectations on ourselves and I see our kids working a lot harder in the off-season because of that burden.”

When talking about Duxbury lacrosse, the fear of how to replace graduating seniors is always present. Yet Sweet and Fisher always seem to have the replacement parts ready and able to keep the green machine going.

While 2009 captains Quinn Cully, Jake Harvey, and Kyle Gavoni were key members of last year’s championship team, mentioning the loss of 16 seniors that include Scott Austin (Cornell), Gus Quinzani (St. Joseph’s), and Craig Sullivan (Maryland) to Division I schools would have any follower questioning can the Dragons do it again.

“Any coach will tell you in a championships year that there is always luck involved. Last year we had very few injuries and we haven’t had that many for the last few seasons,” said Sweet. “We’ve set the bar very high here and we try to do certain things very well. Everyday we say in practice that tomorrow we plan on being better players and a better team than we were today. We challenge each kid to get better at something every day.”

While some important pieces from last year’s team make the Dragons a formidable foe once again, Sweet is aware that incorporating new blood into the program is a must, not only to keep the program at the top of the class for the next few years, but also to take advantage of a bumper crop of freshmen that the Duxbury coach feels can make a significant contribution to the team this year.

“I look at the freshmen from a program standpoint. We had 36 freshmen try out. That’s awfully big. This year we do have some freshmen that can contribute to the varsity,” said the Dragon coach. “We need three or four of these kids to make it and it caused the tryouts to carry over a little. They are all very skilled, and what they lack in physical size, they make up for it in skill, competitiveness, and lacrosse IQ. In this game that goes a long way.”

Some of the freshmen that Sweet hopes can make the step up include Paul Hellar (injured), a really good and overall sound attack, who makes things happen on the field, while defenseman Max Randle is totally sound fundamentally and strong on the backside.

“There is no flash to this kid,” said Sweet. “He has a plan when he defends and he sticks to it.”

Seamus Connolly is a big strong ninth-grader, who Sweet keeps moving around as he tries to see where his talents can be best served. Sam Sweet is a good attack as well and has surprised the coaching staff with how well he has played.

“I keep trying to find reasons why I should cut him, but he keeps making plays out there,” joked Sweet.

Riley Naton, James Burke and Jay McDermott have also raised eyebrows in their first year at trying to crack the varsity.

When it rains, it pours, and that means the Dragons are blessed with a trio of goaltenders that would make any opposing coach envious.

Juniors Dan Buonagurio and Mickey Zaverucha return after splitting the job last season, while some serious competition will come from the Buonagurio household in the form of freshman brother Henry, who makes it a three-way race for the starting job.

“Last year I thought goaltending was the weak spot on our team. However, Dan and Mickey have worked their tails off in the off-season. After the first week and a half I’d have to say that goaltending is going to be one of our strong suits,” said Sweet. “They have improved their games 100 percent. Throw Henry into the mix and it is definitely a three-way battle.”

While goaltending appears to have improved, it might take a significant effort to even test the trio.

“We’re big and strong on defense with Will Shields returning,” said Sweet. “He was hurt toward the end of last year, but has come back bigger, faster and stronger along with captain Kyle Gavoni, who is another big, fast and strong defender. With a little more playing experience I think Kyle will be great. We also switched J.B. Marston from the midfield to defense and he has shown some great progress, along with Taylor Currier and Jake Kearney, who got brought up at the end of last season.”

If defense is a strong point, the Dragons are equally strong in the midfield with two of the best players in the state in Cully (Notre Dame) and Hakeem Lecky (Syracuse), who will team up with classmate Matt Hetherington.

“They are all big and strong and can score and play both ways,” said Sweet. “You can add Steve Ripley to that crowd too. He does a nice job on face-offs and is strong defensively and is one of the faster kids on the team.”

Mike Griffin, Jackson Siefert, Bryan Barry, John Ricciardi and Sam Reinhardt will also be counted on for significant minutes in the midfield.

“It’s going to be hard for other teams to stop our #1 line in the midfield,” said Sweet. “I think you’ll see Siefert score some too. The other players will be able to hold their own too and hopefully give us some offense that we might not expect.”

Harvey is being counted on up front, along with senior Andy Puopolo, junior Rick Armstrong, sophomore Kane Haffey and the freshmen trio of Will Siefert, Sweet, and Connolly.

If there is one area of concern as the Dragons begin the season, it is up front where experience is the thinnest.

“Our attacks have to make a lot of progress and I think they will. But it has to be steady,” said Sweet. “At this point we lack a little experience up front, so we’ll lack that swagger and confidence. I think our schedule will help us build up that confidence and we have to be able to weather a few games that might shake it.”

After burying Falmouth on Saturday, the Dragons will continue their pre-season schedule on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to Rivers, followed by their annual participation in the Daniel Hand Jamboree in Connecticut on Saturday.

The 2009 regular season opens for the Dragons on Monday when they entertain Cohasset starting at 4 p.m.