Ashburn, VA (May 24, 2019) - The Briar Woods Falcons had lost just once in the regular season, but that loss came at the hands of the Stone Bridge Bulldogs, their opponent in the Potomac District tournament championship game.

Ironically, Stone Bridge hadn't lost a game all season, but they had four ties and that meant they were the second seed in the postseason, and not the first. They entered this game with something left to prove.

Chas Sumser Photography was there to capture the action and emotion and posted a gallery of images from the game.

With two well-organized and well-coached teams on the field, you expect the first half to be a patient, probing exercise with each team trying to find and exploit the other's weaknesses--if there are any. And for the first few minutes, that's the way it went.

But that pace didn't last long, and suddenly Stone Bridge had a 2-0 lead. Amy Swain and Bella Rubino scored in the 6th and 7th minutes to the surprise of everyone watching, but not to the confident eleven on the field. 

Play settled back into a steady groove quickly with Briar Woods pressing further into the Bulldogs defensive third. But they did not threaten until the 31st minute when Kendall Garza scored to cut the margin in half.

Briar Woods would score again in the 51st minute, coming all the way back to tie it at 2-2. For a moment, and just a moment, it looked like all of the momentum had gone to the Falcons. But just a minute later Shannon Deavers took the lead and the momentum right back as she scored for Stone Bridge to make it 3-2.

That lead would hold up, and the win gave Stone Bridge the top seed in the upcoming regional tournament as well as a certain amount of vindication. Both teams advance.

Final Score: Stone Bridge 3 - Briar Woods 2