Elijah Robinson told his coach he wanted to take the final penalty kick of Tuesday's Class 6 Region B semifinal.
The Colgan senior defender was in that position a year ago when he scored the game-winning goal against Woodbridge in the consolation game of the Cardinal District Tournament.
When it came time to step up again, Robinson was ready.
He smashed a shot low and to the right to lead Colgan to a win over the previously unbeaten Bobcats and its first state tournament appearance since the Manassas school opened in 2016.
The Sharks (16-3-1) also advance to Saturday's regional final and will face the winner of Wednesday's game between Mountain View and Garfield. The regional final was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed a day due to Colgan's graduation being on Friday.
Tuesday's match was tied 1-1 going into a penalty shootout.
Colgan goalkeeper Brannon Abel stopped Battlefield's first two shots, and Colgan's Sean Lawrie, Andrew Britten, Nathan Forst and Robinson all scored to seal the win.
Britian got the goal from Colgan about 90 seconds after Battlefield (18-1-0) took its first lead in the first half. Matthew Viscuso provided a nice through pass for Britian to set up the goal.
Colgan High School first-year head coach James Warren is proud of his team's tenacity.
Tuesday's game was postponed three times due to lightning. Colgan also lost to Battlefield, 5-0, on March 13 in its second regular season game.
“It's a testament to how they responded,” Warren said. “They've grown a lot.”