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McLean’s bid for redemption ended in heartbreak May 14 as Wakefield rallied for a 2-1 victory in the first round of the district tournament, eliminating the Highlanders one week after spoiling their Senior Night.

The win-or-go-home rematch gave McLean an immediate opportunity to answer that earlier loss. Senior Andrew Zhang said the Highlanders had wanted another chance against the Warriors and spent the week preparing for it.

“We know we’re the better team and we’ve been preparing for this game,” Zhang said before the matchup. “We know what we have to do, we just have to execute.”

McLean controlled much of the opening half, keeping the ball in Wakefield’s end and generating several attempts. The Highlanders also played fast, physical defense to keep the Warriors away from their goal.

Despite that pressure, the game remained scoreless through the first 40 minutes.

McLean finally broke through less than a minute into the second half. Senior Luke Hamel, a Virginia Tech commit, sent the ball down the line to Zhang, who played it back to Hamel for a rolling finish and a 1-0 lead.

The advantage did not hold. McLean’s defense began showing vulnerabilities when Hamel, senior Carter Courey and junior Josh Barnes briefly went to the bench for water. With about 20 minutes remaining, Wakefield connected on a cross from the right side and tied the game at 1-1.

Forced to push for another goal, the Highlanders instead conceded a free kick from the same side with fewer than 10 minutes left. Wakefield curled the ensuing shot into the right side of the net to seize a 2-1 lead.

McLean’s comeback effort suffered another setback when Hamel went down clutching his leg. After several minutes of stoppage, the Highlanders resumed their attack and sent crosses into the box, but Wakefield repeatedly cleared the danger.

The Warriors worked to drain the remaining time while McLean accelerated its search for an equalizer. The final whistle arrived before the Highlanders could break through, leaving McLean’s players devastated on the field.

“We weren’t able to capitalize on the early second half goal,” junior Chase Forde said. “It’s really heartbreaking because we know we’re better than them but we just made a couple of crucial mistakes.”

Although the defeat ended McLean’s season, the Highlanders expect to return most of their starters next year.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing just what we can do next year with most of the starters coming back,” Forde said. “It sucks for the seniors that we couldn’t get it done but we’ll do our best to get it done for them next year.”