In the West, be wary of Wootton

Unbeaten Patriots are favorites in girls lacrosse 4A-3A West Region

The unbeaten Patriots will be the clear top seed in the all-Montgomery County region, which begins play this week. They own hefty regular-season wins over Sherwood and Blake, which met in the regional finals in 2007 and ’06, as well as a 10-7 victory Saturday over 10-1 Quince Orchard, the top seed in the 4A-3A North Region.

At this time last year, Wootton was the second seed in the region, and owned a regular-season win over the top seed (Blake). But this year’s vintage owns much more experience than the 2007 team felled by Sherwood in the semifinals.

‘‘We have a huge senior class that brings a huge amount of leadership and a huge amount of maturity,” Wootton coach Anne-Marie Ritzell said. ‘‘The girls really understand that each team we’ve already seen in the region, they know our style of play, so we have to pick it up even another notch.”

After Wootton comes what Rosenfeld refers to as the ‘‘second tier” — not only Blake and Sherwood, but also B-CC and, unusually, Blair. The Blazers announced their arrival on the scene with a 12-9 win over Blake on April 12, and since then have hung tough with both Sherwood (15-10 loss) and Quince Orchard (17-10).

‘‘I’d like to say we’re a program on the rise rather than a spoiler, but we’ll take what we can get,” Blair coach Mike Horne said. ‘‘We like our chances. We feel like we’ve put in the work and have just as good a shot as anybody.”

Despite the Blair loss, Blake (9-2) did enough to earn the second seed. These Bengals are much younger than the bunch that went to the last two state semifinals: They are led offensively by a pair of sophomores, Justine Allen and Ashley Martin. But they showed maturity in bouncing back from the upset loss.

B-CC and Sherwood join Blair with three losses each. The Barons haven’t played many of their region rivals this season, but hung as close with Wootton (a 12-8 loss on April 11) as anyone has. With first-year coach Jenna Reis (late of Quince Orchard) and offensive powerhouse April Cahill, they have a puncher’s chance.

Like Blake, Sherwood is young this season, but that cloud has a silver lining: the Warriors looked at the regular season as a learning experience, with one eye toward the playoffs. Churchill navigated a difficult schedule in going 6-5 through Monday and could be a contender.

The rest of the region consists of Einstein (4-5), Walter Johnson (5-4), Paint Branch (4-4), Springbrook (2-7) and Whitman (2-8).

Wootton, favorite or no, won’t be overlooking anyone.

‘‘I think [a playoff rematch] is easier for the team that lost in the regular season,” Ritzell said. ‘‘For the team that won, it’s more of a mental game, coming in with the idea that whatever this team throws at you, you keep your composure and continue to play your game.”

fast facts

Favorite: Wootton (12-0)

Contenders: Blake (9-2), Sherwood (8-3), B-CC (6-3)

Darkhorse: Blair (7-3)

Players to watch: Justine Allen (Blake), Helen Anderson (Blair), Molly Berman (Wootton), Suzie Branson (Blair), Angela Biciocci (Churchill), April Cahill (B-CC), Leslie Grill (B-CC), Katie Kauffman (Sherwood), Julie Klatzkin (Wootton), Liz Kubis (Sherwood), Ashley Martin (Blake)