The boys lacrosse team finished its regular season with a 12-1 record, and took advantage of its number one seed in the 4A South Division to advance to the divisional finals.

Though the Bulldogs were unable to capture a perfect season due to a 13-14 loss to Quince Orchard in overtime May 3, the team now looks toward a bigger prize: the Maryland 4A State Championship.

According to junior attacker Matt Moshyedi, the game exposed a few key weaknesses that the Bulldogs need to work on.

“In preparation for the playoffs, our team needs to work on clearing the ball over the midfield line,” Moshyedi said. “So far, against good teams, we have struggled to clear the ball and set up our offense. Our offense is one of the highest scoring teams in the state. Also, we need to work on team defense and communication.”

The atmosphere after the game was an unusual one for the Bulldogs, who rarely had a reason to be disappointed this season. Head coach Jeff Fritz used the loss as an opportunity to remind his team to stay prepared and not become overconfident during the playoffs.

“Everyone was pretty pissed off because we knew it was a game that we should have never lost,” senior attacker Matt Leonard said. “[Coach Fritz] told us that we need to come ready to play, and we can’t just roll on the field expecting to win.”

The Bulldogs took this message to heart and dominated Watkins Mill, 17-4, May 6 in their final game of the regular season.

“The game’s key player was easily Louis Dubick,” junior midfielder Steven Dilsizian said. “He can take over any game at any time and always makes his teammates better. He can see the field better than anyone else.”

The Bulldogs continued their fantastic season into the playoffs, where they first defeated Blake in the first round 24-2, and then Sherwood 15-8, to advance to the 4A South Divisional finals against rival Wootton.

“Before the [Blake] game, our coaches preached that this is the first game of our run to the state championship,” Moshyedi said. “They repeatedly said that we have to play our best lacrosse of the season.”

The Bulldogs’ next game might be their most anticipated of the season, as they face their long-time rivals Wootton.

“Because the game is against Wootton, it will be a very intense rivalry game,” Moshyedi said. “No games can compare to CHS vs. Wootton battling for the regional championship.”

After losing in the state semifinals last season, the Bulldogs are focused on capturing their first state title in school history. Their determination has been showcased through a dominating regular season.

“Ever since our loss to Westminster in the state semifinals last year, our goal for this year was to win the state championship,” Moshyedi said. “Everybody on the team believes that we have the talent to win a state title, but we must make sure we work hard enough these next couple of weeks so that we can reach this goal.”

The goal of reaching, and winning, the State Championships is shared by the entire team, many of whom feel certain that they have the ability to do so.

According to Leonard, the Bulldogs “definitely have the talent to go far in the playoffs and we look forward to doing so.”

For the Bulldogs, winning the state title would not only mean winning the first boys lacrosse championship in CHS history, but also in Montgomery County Public School history.

“Winning a state championship is important to all of us as a team,” Dilsizian said. “Bringing CHS its first state championship as well as MoCo’s first state championship would be a tremendous feat to accomplish. We strive for no less than to make it to that game.”

Two of the Bulldogs’ greatest strengths this season have been their offensive efficiency through Leonard and Moshyedi, and their deep rotation of bench players.

“Our offense does a great job of controlling the ball and scoring goals,” senior defenseman Harry Criswell said. “We have a lot of depth to our team and everyone ends up contributing to every single game.”

Though the Bulldogs may have finished their regular season on a high note, the team still believes that the best lacrosse is still to come.

“We have yet to play our best game, and that is what is making this season so exciting,” Criswell said. “Lacrosse is a pretty simple game: have our heads right, pay attention, hustle, and make sure we leave it all out on the field.”