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After watching the first two rounds of the 4A West Region field hockey tournament without stepping on the field, top-seeded Quince Orchard returned to action with a 4-1 victory against visiting Thomas Johnson in a regional semifinal contest Tuesday.

The Cougars (10-3) used single goals from Alissa Peterson, Alex Ready, Kristina Anderson and Alex Jamison to power their way past the fourth-seeded Cadets and reach Thursday's final against second-seeded Walter Johnson (11-3), which upended third-seeded Churchill (10-4) in the other semifinal. Quince Orchard won its first meeting against the Wildcats, 5-3, on Sept. 12.

"We played well," first-year Cougars coach Laura Williams said. "It was our first game in temperatures as of today, 45 [and] below, but we adjusted fine with that. Now we're thinking about Thursday's game with Walter Johnson. The September game doesn't mean anything."

Walter Johnson has lost just once since that Sept. 12 setback, 1-0 to Bethesda-Chevy Chase (12-4), the top seed in the 3A West Region.

3A West Region

Since falling to Damascus, a rare defeat to a county opponent, Bethesda-Chevy Chase coach Amy Wood said her Barons have hoped for a rematch. Their wish will be granted Thursday.

That's because top-seeded B-CC (12-4) scored a 4-0 victory against fourth-seeded Urbana while second-seeded Damascus (11-3) slipped past third-seeded Paint Branch (8-6) by a 2-1 score during 3A West Region semifinal play Tuesday night. The two victors will now meet Thursday for the regional title and a spot in the 3A state playoffs.

"I think we wanted to play them again," said Barons coach Amy Wood, who won 14 regional titles in her first 15 seasons. "We know it's going to be a tough game and we're not overlooking anybody. We have to challenge every single ball. They're very aggressive."

B-CC scored all four of its goals in the first half, including two by Sunny Cobb. Cobb scored both on penalty corners and off assists from Catherine Mirsky and Clare Becker. Mimmy Wenzel added the other two scores on a breakaway and on a penalty corner off a pass from Mirsky.

"We're going to see B-CC again and it's going to be a tough game [but] it should be a good game," added Swarmin' Hornets coach Jodi Hathaway. "We have to play our game. The way we played them the first time. They'll probably come out harder and tougher."

Kirsten Evans punched in both goals for Damascus on crosses that ranged from the right to the left of the scoring circle. She tipped in both passes. The Panthers scored their lone goal on a penalty corner in the second half.

1A West Region

Poolesville took the first step to claiming its eighth-straight regional crown with a resounding 8-0 victory against visiting Owings Mills in a 1A West Region semifinal contest Tuesday afternoon.

The Falcons (9-3-1) were paced offensively by Katherine Connor, Nicole Kirchoff and Lori Defnet, who punched in two goals apiece.

"We dominated the game for the most part," Poolesville coach Regina Grubb said. "We went with the wind in the first half to give us an opportunity to score more and we did that."

Second-seeded Poolesville will now play top-seeded Glenelg (12-2) Thursday for the 1A West Region title. Glenelg defeated South Carroll, 2-0, in the other semifinal.