Losing to top dog doesn’t sour Barons’ record-setting season

The host Patriots, a year after becoming the first team in Montgomery County history to win a state playoff game, repeated as 4A-3A West Region champions after beating Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 11-3, last Wednesday night. As the bracket’s top seed and unbeaten in county, public-school play — Wootton (16-1) lost to Good Counsel by a goal in the season opener — it cruised to one-sided postseason victories over Springbrook, Walter Johnson and the second-seeded Barons before losing, 9-6, to Dulaney in the state semifinals.

‘‘Yep, we have been here before,” said Wootton attackman Jordan Montesano, whose dominant performance went past his statistical line of two goals and an assist. ‘‘We just wanted to outhustle them up and down the field, out-groundball them, just keep on going.”

While the Patriots did what they were expected to do all year, the Barons did not. They did a lot better than they ever have.

It was a magical season, one which head coach Alan Pohoryles won’t soon forget. His team did things no B-CC (14-3) team has done before — for the first time since Pohoryles stepped in as head coach back in 2001, it beat Walter Johnson, Churchill and Whitman.

For emphasis, the Barons had not beaten any of the three Bethesda schools in over seven years. This year, they beat all three, and reached the regional final for the first time in school history.

‘‘I already talked to them, they’re just bummed out right now,” said Pohoryles. ‘‘But hey, we’ve never been this far before.”

The contributions came from all over place. On the offensive side of the ball, B-CC was one of the most balanced teams in the county. They had five 20-plus goal scorers, and though they lacked the depth of teams like Wootton, which cost them on Wednesday night, they were extremely strong in the starting lineup.

Attackmen John Tschiderer (overtime game-winning goal against Churchill), Thomas Krogh and Chrstian Cobb (the team’s top returning scorer from a year ago) spearheaded an offense that scored no less than eight goals in a single county game prior to the regional championship.

They were aided by two midfielders, different in stature but similar in results. Mighty-mite Gus Vita led the team in points for most of the season, and scored the tying and winning goals in the Barons’ 8-7 overtime victory over the Wildcats. New Jersey transfer Chris Pappalardo was just as big — much bigger in size — a part of B-CC’s success, becoming a force in the midfield. He scored the Barons’ first two goals against the Patriots, and was the only offensive player able to create chances for most of the night.

The real story of B-CC’s season was on the defensive end. With wins by three, two, two and one goals this spring, it was often the back line, with defenders Beau Foreman, Jake Sandler and Ryan Haughey, that was counted on most.

It was what was behind them that turned the Barons from a good team into a great one. Senior goalkeeper Jon Goldberg was sensational all year, earning rave reviews from coaches around the county for his ability to make the difficult saves. A multi-year starter, he closed out his B-CC career with 26 saves against the Patriots.

‘‘Wootton’s a great team, they’re one of best teams in the state, and we left it out on the field,” said Goldberg. ‘‘I’ll just remember the guys on the team. We’re just a big family.”