Dominion picked the perfect time to take its first lead against Broad Run in the AA Dulles District boys’ lacrosse tournament championship game May 19 in Sterling. Senior midfielder Thomas Dewar’s goal with 10 seconds left in regulation gave the host Titans their first and only lead in a thrilling 10-9 victory over the Spartans.

“We were on the sideline and [assistant] coach [David] Smith put the play together,” Dewar said of a timeout prior to his winning goal. “It kind of got totally smashed up and we were scrambling. Stephen [Tarrant] put it on my stick and I was just shooting for the cage.”

Titan junior goalie Andrew Fawkes made a couple of clutch saves and Broad Run clanked a shot off the goal post in the closing minutes to leave the game tied. Dewar’s ensuing goal set off a frantic celebration between Dominion players and enthusiastic supporters on the field. 

“It’s the best feeling,” said Fawkes, the district’s Player of the Year. Fawkes described his brick-wall impersonation during the Spartans’ late flurry as “impulse”, adding “I had to make the saves.”

Dominion (11-6) scored nine of the game’s final 13 goals to erase a 5-1 deficit. The Dulles District tournament championship is the first for the Titans, who also defeated Broad Run for the first time in program history.

“We didn’t start out great. We fell down 5-1 at one point and then we crawled our way back,” said Smith, speaking for head coach Pete Lenotti. Lenotti had exited the stadium by the time we finally tried to locate him after filming post-game celebration and speaking with a couple of players.

“We ended up getting some saves and some stops on defense and ultimately we started to move the ball better on offense,” Smith continued. “We spread the rock better as the game went along and got some better shots. We tied it up and then got a little lucky with the last goal.”

The Titans exacted revenge after losing a 17-16 heartbreaker to the Spartans in the 2009 tournament final. Dominion had lost three games by a combined five goals against Broad Run in the previous two seasons prior to Wednesday’s victory. 

“Last year, we had two one-goal games with them. It feels good to finally be on the other end of it,” said Dewar, who finished with a game-high five goals.

Tarrant and Sean Cooper each netted two goals for Dominion, while Nick Brendes added one. Tarrant also assisted on three goals, including Dewar’s game winner.

Broad Run, the district’ regular-season champions, received four goals from Ryan Madigan. Andy Londos and Nick Khouri each scored twice and Chris Ford tallied once for the Spartans (10-6).

The Spartans and Titans advance to the Region II tournament. Broad Run will host E.C. Glass May 24 at 5:15 p.m. Dominion most likely will play at Brentsville May 24 in the quarterfinal round.

Video: Dominion High School players and fans rejoice after the Titans’ 10-9 thrilling victory over Broad Run in the AA Dulles District boys’ lacrosse tournament championship game May 19 in Sterling.