Don't make any mistake about it: just because Battlefield was the surprise of the spring girls lacrosse season did not mean dropping out of states hurt any less than it would have for a top-seeded team.

The Northwest Region runner-up to Loudoun Valley, which topped the Bobcats in the Cedar Run District regular season and tournament too, shed their share of tears Saturday afternoon in Ashburn after falling to host Broad Run 16-12.

And while moral victories are never quite as sweet as actual ones, the 2009 Bobcats are the precedent setters from which all future successful Bobcat teams must build upon.

"...It's amazing that we got this far because we're the first [from] Prince William County to get here," said sophomore Morgan Clark, who scored two first-half goals. "It's amazing. There aren't words to explain how amazing I feel about this."

No prior Battlefield team had ever won a regional game before, let alone make it to states. The 2008 squad dipped out after the regional quarter-finals last year, but this year, things were different.

"It's ridiculous; we're only a four-year program, but it's great ot see that we made it all the way up here," said goalie Caitlin Hester, who netted 12 saves in the first half alone.

Battlefield started off on a 3-0 hot-streak against Broad Run 3-0 in the first 25 minutes but the Spartans defined the meaning of streak by using two major runs to stake out leads.

In a period of about six minutes, the home team laced together five goals in the first half to take a 5-3 lead. Then, at the start of the second half, BRHS blew open a tied 7-7 affair after halftime with four goals in the first two and a half minutes, including three in the first minute alone.

Seniors Kate Sistare and Meredith Rogers each deposited five goals in the game, leading a scoring crew of six teammates.

Rogers opened the second half with a score 14 seconds after faceoff and Sistare skipped in another shot seconds later. Junior Nina Dunay (2 goals) then got in on the action with her own successful attack and her fellow classmate Kailey Phillips (2 goals) rounded out the 4-0 streak by assisting Rogers with 22:38 left on the scoreboard.

Phillips explained that "using both hands, being able to switch and faking them out" worked well or Broad Run against an otherwise physical Battlefield defense.

All hope of salvaging the game deflated for Battlefield with a little over three minutes remaining in regulation. Fresh off a penalty-shot goal by BHS leading scorer Jessica Jacobson (4 goals), the Bobcats tried to seize a little moment while trailing 14-12.

They did so a little too aggressively though by knocking down senior defender Emily Patterson on a foul, giving Broad Run a chance to set up its offense.

When Phillips got a hold of the ball, she chucked it to Sistare, who zig-zagged her way through the defense and bounced in the game-winner to Hester's left to put the Spartans up by three.

Sistare struck one more time to put an exclamation point on the game with less than 30 seconds remaining.

All that being said, the Bobcats at their best more than held their own against the Spartans.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half and Battlefield trailing 7-5, senior Lesley Chambers (2 goals) capitalized on a free shot about 10 feet in front Broad Run goalie Allison Bogle. Instead of shooting the ball like the Spartans clearly expected, she flipped a light pass to Jacobson, who crossed in front of the net and quickly dumped the ball into the top shelf to bring the Bobcats within one.

Thirty-four seconds later, Chambers delivered again by by streaking down the left side of the field and launched an assist to an open Sara Jacobson (1 goal).

Battlefield now must take the off-season to regroup and figure out how to make it back to states after losing five seniors to graduation: Chambers, Virginia Hyer, Amy Antle, Jessica Jacobson and Ali Schumacher, the first Bobcat to ever earn an athletic scholarship for girls lacrosse.

"I told the underclassmen, 'Go out there and go hard because next year, you're not going to have those seniors," said head coach Jenny Tran.

She added, '"We got to go to two championships this year... next year, our goal is to get to states again."