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As intimidating a presence as Quince Orchard four-year starting midfielder Kayla Clarke is on the soccer field, there are times when the senior, bound for NCAA Division I University of Maryland, plays with an ear-to-ear grin.

"It is not meant to be disrespectful," 11th-year Cougars coach Peg Keiller said. "She just loves the game."

Clarke also excels in pretty much every aspect of it. But mostly that smile creeps across her face because when she is in Cougars red and black, she is surrounded by her seven best friends and someone probably did something intentionally to make her laugh. Or vice versa.

"Kayla is really funny," three-year starting midfielder Emily D'Italia said. "She will make me laugh in the middle of a game when I'm pissed. She brings people down from angry rage to ‘I want to destroy your team with goals,' rage."

Clarke and D'Italia are part of an eight-member senior class that, over the past three years, has been one of the most prosperous since county teams switched to fall play in 1998 to compete in the state tournament. The Cougars have reached three consecutive state finals and are currently chasing the seniors' fourth in four years.

The No. 1 seed in this year's Class 3A West Region tournament, Quince Orchard won its second state title in 2007.

"I have had some talented players come through here, but without a doubt, this is the most talented class I have ever had at Quince Orchard," Keiller said. "I think it is the most talented class I have seen anywhere in the county since I've been here."

D'Italia will play at Division I Robert Morris next year. Forwards Ele Margelos (Gardner-Webb) and Leah Prentice (Robert Morris) also have their college decisions made. Midfielder Yvonne Latour and defender Margaret Smith will likely play at the next level, but are undecided. Starting defenders Jenny Van Hook and Jessica Row have opted not to play in college.

The Cougars have chemistry to go with the talent: The eight seniors have been playing with and against one another since they were 7 years old. But what sets them apart from other longtime friends and teammates is that, while similar in many ways, they each have different qualities that fit together like well-oiled machinery on the field.

The 5-foot-7 D'Italia is nearly unbeatable in the air. She boasts a pretty nasty slide tackle, too.

Clarke (3 goals, 5 assists) is extremely tactical. She is composed and, almost like a coach on the field, has a great feel for how the game works and gets everyone where they need to be.

"Margaret has the sass up the back that you need," Clarke said. "She is not going to let anyone beat her. She always gets the job done. She has this little fake move, works every time."

Extremely speedy despite struggling with knee injuries her sophomore and junior years, Van Hook is a constant positive support. Row can seemingly run forever and is the team's most improved player. A two-year varsity member, she joined a club team eight months ago and looks like a completely different player in the back.

Latour (10 goals, 6 assists) can keep the ball through just about anything and on the rare occasion she loses it, she will likely get it back within seconds. She also has one of the strongest shots in the county.

"If you ever watch game tape, you will see Yvonne get ready to kick a shot and you will see a bunch of black and red jerseys just part, like a sea, and the other team just kind of turn and look at us like, ‘What are you doing?'" D'Italia said. "Then someone will get hit and we'll be like ‘Oh, we know that hurt.'"

Margelos (7 goals), speedy and tenacious up top, is a clutch player. She scored the game-winner against Whitman in last year's regional final and the winning penalty kick against Thomas Johnson in the state semifinals. And she scored the insurance goal against Wootton in the previous year's run to the state championship.

Prentice (10 goals, 9 assists) is a workhorse with a great attitude and nose for the goal.

"We all have our own unique thing and when you put it together, it's like magic," she said.