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‘‘We didn’t accomplish our goals, and that’s very disappointing,” said Churchill head coach Jeff Fritz. ‘‘The team that played better won tonight. I don’t necessarily think they’re the better team.”

Springbrook (13-1) advances to face unbeaten top-seed Wootton in Wednesday’s regional final. The game will be played at 7 p.m. at Wootton.

Early on in the rematch, the two teams seemed to be following the script of their earlier meeting, a 15-4 Churchill win. By the final minutes of the first quarter, the Bullodgs (11-3) led the Blue Devils, 5-1, thanks to two goals from midfielder Connor Wielgus, one each from fellow middies Ray Ferrara and Harris Middel, and one from attackman Kyle Hann.

Springbrook fought back valiantly, slimming the margin to a single goal near the end of the third quarter. But a beautiful pass from Hann to his co-captain, Middel, got the lead back to two with just five seconds to go in the third.

At the time, that seemed like a potential backbreaker, but the veteran Blue Devils rallied once more. After Springbrook senior attackman Adam Brizendine tied the game midway through the fourth, standout fourth-year midfielder Ben Simmons took over.

In a two-minute stretch late in the game, Simmons twice ran the length of the field with fantastic individual efforts, which included spins, jukes and great catches; then fired absolute rockets past Churchill goalkeeper sophomore Griffin Farha. The second of his scores, with just over two minutes left, proved to be the death knell.

‘‘Last time we played, we came out flat,” Simmons said. ‘‘We played scared. We were 10-0 going into that game, went in thinking we were unbeatable, and they showed us what’s up. I really think if we won that game, this game would have been like the last game.”

The Bulldogs never quit, as Ferrara scored his second goal with 90 seconds to go, making the deficit just one. They had the ball deep in Springbrook’s defensive zone late in the game, but their last shot was expertly saved by Blue Devils senior keeper Kyle King with just four seconds to go.

Despite technically being the lower seed, the Bulldogs felt the loss was an upset. Fritz had thought his team could make a legitimate run at not only a regional championship, but at becoming the first Montgomery County team to win a state playoff game.

Throughout most of the season, the Bulldogs played like potential champs, with their only setbacks a close defeat to unbeaten Wootton and a loss to Bullis, a private school in the Interstate Athletic Conference. The latter made Churchill go on the road Monday, because teams are seeded on their overall records.

The Bulldogs bore the look of champions all season by winning the close games, such as a one-goal thriller over Sherwood, and impressive routs, like their earlier bout with the Blue Devils. The stage was set for a rematch of last year’s regional final against Wootton.

Instead, Springbrook is moving on and Churchill is left to ponder what might have been.

‘‘They just got hot and we couldn’t stop them,” said Fritz. ‘‘It’s plain and simple.”