Westfield players and supporters had every reason to feel a familiar apprehension heading into Monday’s Northern Region showdown with top-ranked Washington-Liberty. The Bulldogs’ last two seasons had ended at precisely this stage — both times on penalties, first to McLean in 2024 and then to Herndon last year. One match from a state berth, one misstep from the end. And Washington-Liberty, on paper, may have been the most complete side in Northern Virginia.
But W-L carried its own anxieties. Each of its last two seasons had been ended by Westfield at the quarterfinal stage, and its only loss this year had come against the Bulldogs. Those defeats, however, were in Chantilly. This time the match was at W-L’s own ground, in front of a loud, restless home crowd.
Westfield returned plenty of attacking talent from 2025 — including 2026 Northern Region Player of the Year Ethan O’Connor — but the entire back line and goalkeeper had graduated, along with the height that made them one of the area’s best set-piece sides. The solution was pragmatic: three midfielders redeployed to defense. Shepard-bound senior Reyes Torres, Eduardo Rivera, and Evan Yun couldn’t replicate last year’s aerial dominance, but along with Elroe Takele they brought intensity, mobility, and the ability to play out from the back.
From the opening whistle, W-L were on the front foot. Technical, fluid, and relentless in their movement, the Generals probed Westfield’s narrow 4-4-2 — at times looking more like a 4-2-2-2 — and suffocated the Bulldogs’ attempts to build. Westfield struggled to find width and struggled to escape the pressure W-L applied to every touch. You wondered how long they could endure, and how many set pieces they could concede before the dam broke.
It felt like a matter of time.
And it was — just not in the way anyone expected.
Midway through the first half, a routine long ball rolled toward the W-L goalkeeper. O’Connor applied the obligatory pressure, anticipated the pass to the fullback, intercepted it, and was fouled immediately in the box. Westfield had a lifeline.
They defended with total concentration for the remainder of the half, threatening only occasionally on the counter while W-L continued to move the ball with authority.
Then came the moment that changed the match.
In the first minute of the second half, Westfield produced a beautifully constructed counterattack. After several quick passes through midfield, Esteban Guarin delivered a low cross across goal that found Yannis Cardoza for a simple finish. Suddenly, improbably, Westfield led 2–0.
(Photo by Evan McCabe)
W-L responded as great teams do.
Ten minutes later, senior Owen Bird delivered an early cross from the left, dummied cleverly by Cole Montgomery into the path of Liberty District Player of the Year Dara Cahill, who finished calmly from close range. Cahill, a Mary Washington signee, was influential throughout, and with less than ten minutes remaining he equalized from the spot after a W-L player was taken down in the area.
But Westfield’s reply was immediate.
They earned a rare corner, and left-footer Joel Geraban sent in a wicked inswinger that the goalkeeper could only punch into his own net. With eight minutes left, Westfield had reclaimed the lead.
What followed was a siege.
All eleven Bulldogs defended, O’Connor dropping into the back line, every player straining to hold the shape. And then came the sequence that will live in Westfield lore: Montgomery broke free on the left and fired across goal. Keeper Will Paulin got a touch, then doubled back to block the rebound. Two more close-range saves followed, each requiring total concentration, and somehow the lead held.
When the whistle blew, there was joy for Westfield and tears for W-L. For the second straight year, arguably the most dominant team in Northern Virginia fell before reaching the state tournament. Westfield didn’t create much, but they took their chances and delivered a defensive performance of remarkable discipline and resolve.
For two years, the Bulldogs’ season had ended one step short of a state tournament berth. On Monday night, against the region’s most talented side and on the road, they finally took that step.
A match no one in the region will forget.