APEX — Three years ago, the Apex boys’ lacrosse team brought home its first state championship, when members of this year’s senior class were freshmen.

Now, those 18 seniors are two wins away from closing their high school careers by helping their school lift another state championship banner.

But first things first. The second-seeded Cougars face No. 3 Greensboro Page tonight (Wednesday) for the right to play for the NCHSLA title, thanks to their 9-2 win over No. 10 Greensboro Grimsley in Friday’s second round.

“I think it’s the time of year,” said Apex coach John Hayden. “There’s no option not to be ready.”

The Cougars appeared ready from the get-go Friday. They started things off with a goal from senior Parker Wilson less than two minutes into the game and never trailed.

Fellow senior Will Doyle led the Cougars with three goals and Joe Nugent, also a senior, added two. But the Cougars’ defense shined, too.

After allowing Grimsley its first goal with 11:55 left in the second quarter, Apex didn’t let the Whirlies score again until the final minute of the fourth.

“I thought our defense did a real nice job,” Hayden said. “We didn’t give them a lot of good looks during the game.”

To defeat Page, Hayden knows there are a few areas in which the Cougars need to improve.

“We were pretty focused, we had a good handle on the game but we’ve got to get some more shots in,” Hayden said.

The Cougars hope to play in the state championship game, which will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at Duke University’s Koskinen Stadium. To get there, they will first have to get past a Page team that has only lost twice this season.

“We just really want to go to a state championship this year,” Doyle said. “We’re hoping to win the next game though. We never look past an opponent.”