When Dave Greene gathered the Whitman boys soccer team at the start of the season, he delivered a message to them that they’ve held true to all season: they were not going to talk about the state championship. At all.

Greene’s been the head coach at Whitman since 1995 and has been with the program for 47 years. He’s been a part of all 11 state championship teams. But over the last few seasons, they’ve been knocked out early in the playoffs.

So this year, Green told them their focus was not on winning it all. It was on taking it one game at a time.

“I think last year we talked about it too much,” Greene said. “Maybe the moment may have gotten to them.”

Greene has held his tongue even now, after they’ve already successfully made it back to the state final. Whitman will play Leonardtown in the 4A state championship game at 5 p.m. Friday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County stadium.

Whitman returned only three starters from last year’s 20-3-1 team, and all three are playing in a new spot. Ignacio Aguilar, otherwise known as Nacho, was a center back and is now a defensive midfielder. Endric Lotsch has moved from outside wing to center forward and Noah Bloom has switched from outside back to center back.

Their preseason scrimmages were rough. The team was disconnected as Aguilar, Lotsch and Bloom got used to new positions and the other eight took on roles as starters.

“I think there’s always a target on our back just because of past successes,” Greene said. “From the chatter, I think everybody thought we were going to be really bad. ...I think people looked at it as, ‘OK, we’re going to get them this year.’”

The team started gelling better once real games began, winning the first two of its three games of the season, all of which were against private schools. But it wasn’t until the end of the season, after a 7-0 win against Blair on Oct. 14, that Greene started to think that this team might have what it takes to go far.

Their defense, led by goalie Ziggy Powell-Moran, has anchored them. Powell-Moran started as a freshman in 2023, but missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL. He’s allowed just seven goals in 19 games.

On Nov. 7, Whitman beat Parkdale 4-0 in the semifinals to advance to Friday’s title game. If they win, it’ll be Whitman’s first title since 2018.

“We’ve had some really good teams that have never gotten to this point,” Greene said. “I keep telling the boys, ‘chemistry is everything, it is absolutely everything.’ Yes, you have to have talented players, and you have to have players that are willing to be role players and do their job, but the chemistry and leadership on this team is unbelievable. We are not overall as talented as we have been in past years, but they play really well together.”

Girls Soccer: Bethesda-Chevy Chase heads to state finals

Whitman isn’t the only county team playing in the state finals. Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s girls soccer team will face Perry Hall in the state championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday. The game will also be played at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County stadium.

BCC (12-2-2) advanced to the final after beating Severn Run 2-0 in the semifinals on Nov. 7.

NWSL playoffs: Spirit vs. Portland

Had enough soccer yet? Well, there’s one more game to keep an eye on this week. The Washington Spirit take on Portland in the NWSL semifinals at noon Saturday. Audi Field is sold out — for the fourth consecutive playoff game — but fans can tune in to to watch on CBS.

The Spirit made it to the finals last year, where they fell to Orlando. Washington won the Challenge Cup earlier this year.

High School football playoffs: Damascus vs. Oakdale

While most of the county playoff games are taking place on Thursday night, Damascus is slated for a Friday night matchup at Oakdale at 6:30 p.m.

Damascus (7-3) has 10 sophomores on varsity this year and returned only two starters on either side of the ball. The 12-time state champions beat Rockville 42-6 in the first round of the playoffs last week.

High School basketball recruiting: Baba Oladotun

Baba Oladotun, one of the top basketball recruits in the class of 2026, is expected to announce his commitment on Wednesday. He is deciding between Arkansas, Maryland, Georgetown and Kentucky, he said on his Instagram page.

Oladotun was the top recruit in the class of 2027 but decided to reclassify last summer to graduate early. He played his freshman year at DeMatha before transferring to Blake for the rest of his high school career. He also plays on Team Durant, a top AAU program.

Have a game, athlete or story you think we should write about? Send me an email at danielle.allentuck@thebanner.com.