Coming off of an 8-8 preceding season that saw Westfield get trounced by Langley in the opening round of the regional tournament, the 2024-2025 lacrosse season is underway for the Bulldogs, who have already played several games at the time of publication. With lacrosse now being one of the most played sports at Westfield as the sport continues to grow both nationally and internationally, let’s get a midseason look at the 2025 Westfield boys’ lacrosse team.
Firstly, let’s discuss who is going to be suiting up for the black and gold of Westfield this year. Returning from last year include seven seniors, highlighted by last year’s captain Kennedy Duda. His fellow class of 2025 teammates include Brendan Shoulders, Ryan Dolan, Raj Thomson, James Rennyson, Will Bergile, and Charles McGarry. Also returning are sophomores John Ryan and Tyler Tutalo, who are joined this year in the class of 2027 by Ajay Thomson and Chris Eztler. A deep junior class consists of 18 players, and the freshman class includes Reed Thiltgen and Wyatt Jones.
The Bulldogs regular season began March 20th at home against Herndon, and have already played four games in the last week. Unfortunately for Westfield, they are off to a mediocre start, losing their first three games before finally getting their first win against CG Woodson 3-2. The losses were against Herndon, McLean, and Battlefield High School (Battlefield ranked 90th nationally.) Unlike other sports, the lacrosse team doesn’t play a specific “district” and “non-district” portion of the schedule, as they play various teams from Loudoun, Prince William, and other districts within Fairfax County after their first district game on April 1. Similar to other sports however, the Bulldogs play in a district tournament after the regular season where the seeds are determined by their results in their five Concorde District games If they place within the top four teams in their district, then they automatically qualify for the regional tournament, which they must win to advance to the state final four.
So with that being said, who are the contenders to win the region and state championships in Class 6? While it is too early in the season to fully recognize who the best teams in the state are, many of last season’s top teams are once again poised for strong seasons in 2025. Starting off, we have the defending state champion Robinson Rams out of Fairfax Virginia. The Rams went 22-0 last year, dominated their way through the playoffs, and defeated Battlefield in the 2024 state championship game 15-7. The dominance displayed by Robinson last season saw them ranked at #12 nationally in the Maxpreps national rankings, which is very impressive for a public school. Another team that dominated in Fairfax County last year was the Madison Warhawks, who reached the state semifinals last season, and finished 91st nationally (again, using Maxpreps rankings). Both the Warhawks and the Rams have begun their 2025 campaign strong, as they each hold undefeated records at the time of writing. At the time of publication, Madison is ranked 70th in the country, and Robinson is ranked 86th, respectively. Other undefeated teams in Fairfax County include Oakton, Herndon, and Langley.
In their first district game, the Bulldogs hosted the 0-4 Centreville Wildcats in a crosstown rivalry. With a modest but rowdy crowd of around 150-200 fans, the Bulldogs looked to rebound against a struggling Wildcats squad.
Unfortunately for Westfield, they got off to an extremely sluggish start. About three minutes into the game, Centreville junior Noah Katzen finished a scoring opportunity for the Wildcats, coming off of an assist from senior Lucas Brooks. This gave Centreville a 1-0 lead and set the tone for a dominant first half. Both offenses were quiet for the remainder of the first quarter, with goalies Kasra Motadel (Westfield) and Ollie Nguyen (Centreville) trading saves. After 12 minutes of action, Centreville still led 1-0. However, Centreville began the second quarter the same way they started the game, with Katzen scoring off of a rebound, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage early in the second. Towards the end of the half, Brooks finished with a goal on the run, and Centreville held a commanding 3-0 lead at halftime.
As the second half began, the Bulldogs slowly began to close the gap. After 7 minutes of scoreless third quarter action, Westfield finally reached the back of the Wildcats net, with junior attacker Casey Konchar finishing from a few feet away, facilitated by the assist from fellow junior Sean Driscoll. After three quarters of action, Centreville possessed a 3-1 lead.
Despite Westfield’s deficit, the battle between the crosstown rivals rapidly intensified in the fourth quarter. Just a minute into the fourth quarter, Westfield senior midfielder Charles McGarry scored on a run from the left side, tightening the score at 2-3. Moments later, junior Caleb Cho scored from about 15 yards out and with heavy pressure from the Wildcats defense, which tied the game at 3-3. With about nine minutes left and the Bulldogs maintaining a lot of momentum following their three consecutive goals, it looked as if they might complete the comeback. However, Centreville answered loudly, as junior Will Shields scored moments later to regain the lead for Centreville at 4-3. For the majority of the remainder of the fourth quarter, Westfield was unable to break the Wildcats defense, and Centreville senior Garrison Fletcher scored off of an assist from Shields to give Centreville a 5-3 lead with 1:26 remaining in the game.
Despite Centreville’s seemingly safe lead, the Bulldogs answered back quickly. Just seconds after Fletcher’s goal, junior Noah Ayers scored on a run up the middle to close the gap to 5-4. Down only one, Westfield was able to regain possession in the final minute, getting off two shots on goal that were both saved by Nguyen, and after a final scramble for the ball as time expired, Centreville was able to secure a 5-4 win.
In the coming weeks, the Bulldogs aim to finish the regular season strong, as they still have four more district games on their schedule. Their next two contests are on Saturday, April 12th and Monday, April 14th. Where they participate in invitational tournaments and face off against Fairfax and Edison. Their next home game is on Tuesday April 22nd, where they battle the 3-0 Chantilly Chargers. Tickets for entry are five dollars, and the JV team plays right before the Varsity at 5:45, with the Varsity game beginning at 7:15 (both games being played in the stadium.)
As the Bulldogs begin to prepare for postseason play, it is unfortunately highly unlikely that the Bulldogs win their first state championship this season, as they have gotten off to an uninspiring start and there are multiple powerhouse teams in Fairfax County that they would have to get back. That being said, the Westfield lacrosse games provide a fun experience for student spectators, with the JV and Varsity playing back to back, and other spring sporting events often occurring simultaneously with the games. If interested, make sure to check out a lacrosse game this season!
