ASHBURN, VA - In what proved to be arguably the most exciting lacrosse game in the Northern Region this entire season, the Bulldogs of Stone Bridge (4) took on the Thomas Jefferson Colonials (5) in the opening round of the Liberty District playoffs. After a barn-burner that went into overtime, the Colonials pulled out the stunning victory by a score of 13-12.

The Bulldogs gave the Colonials a number of scares early in the first quarter to make their offensive presence felt. Chris Wilson of the Bulldogs gave the game's first score with a wide open shot from three yards out with 9:25 remaining in the first quarter. Jack Burke gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead with a 10-yard shot with 6:51 left in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs and Colonials then traded off goals, with Colin Moran and Wilson providing goals for the Bulldogs, and Andy Doyne and Ryan Vaughn scoring for the Colonials, leaving the score 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs picked up two penalties early in the second quarter, leaving the Colonials with a two-man advantage. They took advantage of the opportunity, with Doyne scoring with 10:28 remaining. Highly touted Syracuse verbal commit Derek Maltz got his first goal with 7:44 left, giving his team a 5-3 lead over the Colonials. The Colonials refused to stay down multiple goals long, as they responded in a mere 29 seconds, with Stefan Kowalski finding the net for the Colonials.

After both squad's defense's battled it out for six minutes, Wilson completed the hat trick with 1:39 left, giving the Bulldogs a 6-4 advantage. However, in a thrilling conclusion to the first half, Kowalski of the Colonials scored with just two seconds remaining, bringing the score to 6-5 at the break.

With the third quarter less than a minute old, the Colonials tied the score on a fast break goal from Liam Carter-Condon. The Colonials then continued their run, with Doyne scoring his third goal on a bounce shot with 6:27 left, giving the Colonials a 7-6 lead, their first of the night.

However, the Bulldogs did not take well to losing the lead, as JP Giroux scored with 5:53 left to tie the score at 7. Both teams continued to trade off goals in the next two minutes, with 2 goals coming from JP Giroux of the Bulldogs, and two goals coming for the Colonials, with Carter-Condon and Doyne contributing. That left the score 9-8 with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.

The Colonials grabbed their first multiple goal lead with a goal from Collin Hennegan with 3:29 remaining. Mike LeGore, the goalie for the Colonials, seemed to go unconscious in the third quarter, not letting anything by him. With just a quarter to go, the Colonials led 10-8.

The Bulldogs opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter, with Wilson scoring an unassisted goal to pull the deficit to within one. Kowalski and the Colonials quickly fired back though with two goals, giving them a 12-9 edge with six minutes left.

Two slash penalites against the Colonials gave the Bulldogs a 5 to 3 advantage on the attacking side of the field. Maltz stepped up to his name to rip the ball into the net, bringing the deficit down to two with 4:40 remaining. With 1:48 remaining, the Bulldogs brought the lead down to one goal with a 15-yard drill by Jack Burke, leaving the score 12-11.

Proving to have the heart and courage of a champion, Burke grabbed his second goal in 40 seconds, drilling a shot into the back of the net to tie the game with 1:06 left, capping off an amazing comeback. The Bulldogs were able to get two more shots on the goal, but were unable to convert, thrusting an amazing game into overtime.

As the overtime period began, both goalies made clutch saves to keep their team's alive. With 1:26 remaining in the OT period however, a winner was determined, as the Colonials struck a final blow with a goal from Collin Hennegan, giving the Colonials a 13-12 victory over the 4th seeded Bulldogs.

The Colonials will continue their run, as they hope to defeat the top seeded Langley Saxons in the Liberty District Semi-finals on May 5th at Langley High School.