Facing a rare deficit at halftime of the AA Dulles District boys lacrosse championship game against Dominion May 19, Briar Woods came out with a renewed intensity in the second half that resulted in two quick goals. The Falcons scored twice in the first 88 seconds of the third quarter and did not trail again on their way to a 10-8 victory.

The district tournament title game began May 18 at Tuscarora High School but was suspended due to lightning midway through the first quarter with Briar Woods leading 2-1. First-year Falcons’ coach Bruce Lipson felt his squad lacked intensity when the game resumed Thursday at Woodgrove High School in Purcellville.

Lipson challenged his players at halftime. “We have a thing called intensity hill,” Lipson said of a 60-foot hill that his players run up-and-down when he deems necessary. “I said, ‘you want to visit intensity hill?’ ... They obviously got the spark.”

The Falcons (14-3) completed the Dulles double of winning the district’s regular-season and tournament titles. Junior Justin Little led Briar Woods offensively with three goals and an assist. Senior Chris Harris and junior Connor Cashman each scored two goals in the win. 

Seniors Justin Proctor and Casey Vogeley, and sophomore Bryan Morse scored a goal each, while junior Kevin Cuellar and sophomore Patrick Fleming dished out assists. Senior goalie Matt Bukovac, a Robert Morris University commit, made 10 saves.

“Our perfect district season was really not complete without the tournament championship,” said Bukovac, the Dulles District’s Player of the Year. “We wanted the win and we came out and did what we had to do.”

Briar Woods improved to 13-0 against Dulles District opponents this season. Thursday’s two-goal win over the defending tournament champion Titans was the Falcons’ smallest margin of victory in those 13 wins.

“This puts the icing on the cake,” Lipson said. “Nobody remembers who won the regular season, they always remember who won the tournament. To win both is just doubly sweet.”

Dominion (9-7) scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to pull even, but saw its chance of repeating as tournament champions slip away when Briar Woods scored three of the game’s final four goals.

Senior Stephen Tarrant led the Titans with three goals and an assist. Sophomore Brett Bushman added two goals, while Kyle Hall, Derek Bullock and Andrew Ashley each scored once. Dominion senior goalie Andrew Fawkes made several big saves in the game.

Briar Woods, Dominion and Woodgrove have qualified from the Dulles District for the Region II tournament, which begins May 23. Woodgrove topped Loudoun County, 15-8, in the Dulles tournament consolation game May 18 to earn a region berth in the program’s first season.