WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The Washington Little Caps 2004 team advanced to the AYHL finals for the first time thanks to some timely scoring, stingy defense and outstanding goaltending.

In the first round robin game vs. top-seeded Valley Forge, center Jeremy Wilson converted a slick backdoor pass from winger Reese Judson to put the Little Caps ahead midway through the second period. And goalie Pete Sterling took it from there, making 28 saves to preserve a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

In the second game against the North Jersey Avalanche, the Caps secured a 2-2 tie thanks to a third period goal from winger Kareem El-Bashir, who intercepted a clearing pass and fired a wrist shot into the net with less than nine minutes remaining. Winger Tyler Rothermund scored the first goal for the Caps, who also got 26 saves from goalie Harlan Jackson.

Things didn’t go as well in the third round robin game, as an opportunistic Team Maryland squad pounced on a handful of miscues and handed the Caps a 4-1 defeat. Jeremy Wilson scored the only goal for Washington.

With a 1-1-1 record, the Caps punched their ticket to the semis, where they faced Team Maryland for the second time in nine hours.

This time, it was Washington that came out on top.

Rothermund and El-Bashir scored even strength goals in an emotional and physical rematch, George Egournov tallied on the power play and Connor Frazer added a pair of assists. But the star of the game was Sterling, who kept the Caps in the game early with a number of spectacular saves. He finished with 31 saves.

In the final against Valley Forge, the Minutemen got off to a fast start, scoring after some sustained pressure less than a minute into the game and hemming the Little Caps into their end.  Strong goaltending by Pete Sterling kept the score at 0-1 as the Little Caps got their feet under themselves and started to slowly tilt the ice back towards the Minutemen's end.  The first period ended up with Valley Forge up by a goal and the shots about even.

In the third, the team kept the pressure on with strong physical play.  Finally, with about 9 minutes left in the game, a strong forecheck by Tyler Rothermund created a turnover.  Center Makai Tarjamo alertly gathered the puck and made a strong pass to George Egournov in front of the net who put it past the goalie for a 1-1 tie.  Over the last 9 minutes of regulation, the Little Caps kept up the pressure, but couldn't crack the net again.

In overtime, the two teams skated hard and made quick changes, as the 5 games of intense hockey over 48 hours started to take its toll.  Sterling made several outstanding saves, but about 10 minutes into overtime, Valley Forge came down on the rush, centered the puck in front of the net and were able to tuck it home for the game winning goal.

Though the team was disappointed at the final outcome, they played well and they played hard for the entire weekend to cap off a very fun and successful season.

"I'm very proud of the boys," said Coach Lyon Messier.  "They played together as a team all year and really developed as both hockey players and young men.  In the end, they didn't get the exact result they wanted, but they still succeeded."