After taking a year to regroup, Dulles is getting it done in district again — and it’s doing it with defense.

The Vikings allowed just 10 goals through their first nine District 23-5A matches and had five shutouts going into this week, pushing them into third place in district after the first round of play.

“We know we have a very strong district,” Dulles coach Patrick Wallace said. “There are a lot of great teams in our district, so we just want to make the playoffs.

“That’s our goal and our focus.”

That wasn’t the case last year, at least not for long once district began. The Vikings quickly fell out of postseason contention after making back-to-back appearances after the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

“Last year was definitely a rebuilding year and gearing up for this year,” Wallace said. “We had a lot of youth last year.”

Because Dulles was young, most of its key players are back. Only six graduated, with first-team all-district defender John Charlesworth — who at 6-foot-3 was imposing on the back line — the biggest loss.

Fortunately for the Vikings, senior D Shaadi Abughazaleh is back to guide a defense that lost three starters. The returning captain has kept his teammates focused on their goal of making the playoffs.

“He’s really provided a great transition of leadership from last year’s team to this year’s team,” Wallace said.

Midfielder Lewis McCorkell, forward Brandon Valencia and goalkeeper Drew Jacoby highlight a solid junior class.

McCorkell’s play at center mid, where he’s able to draw attention to himself to free up teammates, has allowed Valencia, primarily a midfielder last season, to see more time on the front line.

Thanks to his quick release and ability to shoot with both feet, Valencia had eight goals going into last Tuesday’s match at Kempner.

“He’s one of our (Dynamo) Academy players and he has a little more training than some of the other guys,” Wallace said. “He’s been pretty successful in some of his college showcases, so there are schools looking at him that are interested in him.”

Jacoby began alternating games in goal with all-district keeper Cole Heidel late last season, once it became apparent Dulles wouldn’t make the playoffs, and that experience has paid off this season.

“It gave Drew some responsibility,” Wallace said. “He got to play in some key games that actually had some meaning.”

Junior central defender Travis Galloway is the top newcomer. A JV player last season, his knack for chasing ball downs and distributing well out of the backfield has caught the eye of several coaches.

“Travis has been really instrumental in solidifying our defense,” Wallace said. “He’s probably the fastest guy on the field in any game.”

The play of Galloway and Abughazaleh has allowed the Vikings to lean on defense, but that hasn’t been all good. Their dependence on defense has left them less than aggressive on offense at times.

Through 12 matches, the Vikings scored more than two goals only once, and that was in a 4-3 win over Kempner. They were held to one or no goals seven times.

But Wallace says his team still is learning to work together, and when they do they’ll be even more dangerous.

The Vikings begin the home stretch Tuesday against Elkins, which won in a shootout in the first meeting.

“Because we have some guys in new roles, as far as primary starters and playing longer periods of time, as well as a lot of guys from JV who are in key positions, we’ve had trouble identifying what our roles are and how good we can play,” Wallace said.

“I still haven’t come off the field yet thinking we’ve played our best game. We can continue to improve, we can continue to identify weaknesses in every game and we still haven’t peaked yet.”