CLCF’s lacrosse program may still be the new kid on the block in the city’s youth sports landscape, but it’s growing up fast.

This year, it was old enough to win big.

With a roster full of players who have been in the program since they were just old enough to start playing the sport, CLCF’s U13 boys team won the league’s first-ever state championship earlier this summer with a victory over Island Lacrosse.

It was a special accomplishment for the squad. For the program, it was proof positive that, in year eight, there’s a solid and growing foundation.

“This group was unique,” said league president and U13 head coach Pete Kelleher. “CLCF Lacrosse was founded in 2007 so these kids were six and seven at that point. This is kind of the first generation of players who weren’t baseball players or soccer players first. They started with lacrosse and they grew up in the program. It’s been fun to watch.”

Several other CLCF squads had success this season, on both the boys and girls sides, and the league continues to bring in good numbers, with about 200 players competing.

The U13 team’s championship run gave the program a signature moment.

“It was awesome,” Kelleher said. “They bonded as a team, they matured. They’re a great group of kids and they had a great season.”

Kelleher and assistant coaches Johnny Belsky and Josh Hargraves knew when the season began that the U13 squad had potential. Experience was a big reason why, but that was just a starting point.

“We realized this was kind of the same group of kids that had been together for a while,” Kelleher said. “Over the years, they’ve been getting better and their lacrosse IQ has been getting stronger and stronger. We told them in February, when we first got together, that if they played to their capabilities, this was a possibility. But it has to be a total team commitment to that.”

It was.

CLCF went 10-1-2 in the regular season and also made an appearance at Harvard Stadium, playing before a Boston Cannons Major League Lacrosse game.

Throughout the season, the playoffs remained the primary focus. CLCF wasn’t an overwhelming favorite, even with its record, but was confident.

“We only had one or two blowout wins,” Kelleher said. “Every other game, we just grinded it out, and we knew we needed to keep doing that.”

Competing in the Rhode Island Youth Lacrosse Division II playoffs, CLCF made its way to the finals with that grind-it-out brand of lacrosse. For the championship, it would have to get through rival Island Lacrosse. In a regular-season meeting, the teams played to a draw.

The rematch was close again, with the game knotted at 4-4 at halftime. But CLCF took control in the second half and held off Island to win 9-6. Goalie Liam Moore never let Island take a lead of more than one goal, which set the stage for his offense to jump in front. Brendan Kelleher finished with five goals and two assists, while Mark Diore, Michael Boscia and Michael DiMascolo also tallied goals.

“We were stunned,” Pete Kelleher said. “The final whistle blew and it was legitimately five to 10 seconds of just kind of looking at each other, saying, ‘Did that just happen?’ The kids just never stopped and I think, even then, they were like, ‘We have another quarter right?’”

They didn’t, but they did have a championship to celebrate. In the time since the finals, players and coaches have had time to reflect and soak it all in. The league held a season-ending barbecue in July, saluting CLCF Lacrosse’s best year yet.

And they’re ready for more.

The U13 team will play in a fall ball league and will be shooting for another title in the U15 division next year.

They hope it’s another step in the right direction for CLCF Lacrosse.

“They’ll be coming back and playing together again,” Kelleher said. “They’re already saying, ‘One more time.’”